Imprisoning children and young people is damaging, not only to them, but to society as well. In the last two decades, the child custody population has increased by almost 800% - a damning indictment of our approach to dealing with children who are in trouble - and young adults between the ages of 18-24 account for a third of all those who are sentenced to custody. 

Out of Trouble believes that a new approach to addressing offending by children and young people is needed - one which takes account of their age and developmental immaturity and recognises that children who offend are children, first and foremost; who's purpose is rooted in welfare; and which is restorative in nature - such an approach would, we believe, pay dividends, not just for the young person who has offended, but for their victims, their families and their communities, as well as for society more generally. 

Those who end up in our secure children's homes, secure training centres and young offender institution's are often the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in our communities - children and young people who have experienced abuse and neglect, poverty and bereavement at an early age. For these children, imprisonment can be a double-punishment - and one which does little to address the reasons why they have ended up there.

In addition to imprisoning thousands of children every year, England and Wales has one of the highest rates of adult imprisonment in the world, with many vulnerable people with mental health problems, substance misuse problems and learning disabilities routinely imprisoned, often for non-violent offences (see the latest edition of the Prison Reform Trust's Bromley Briefings for up-to-date information on the prison population).

Out of Trouble believes that breaking the cycle of child and youth imprisonment is essential if we are going to stop the conveyor belt that presently takes our children and young people from young offender institutions to adult prisons. Join us in our campaign for change here.