Research conducted by the Out of Trouble programme has found that between 2005 and 2008, the number of children imprisoned indeterminately increased by 170%.

Out of Trouble director Penelope Gibbs said:

“These are ridiculous sentences for children. They condemn them to a sentence without a particular end. That is an absolutely shocking abuse of the rights of the child. For them to be locked up and not understand when they will be released must be absolute torture for them."

The statistics were released on the day a joint report by the Prison Reform Trust and the Institute for Criminal Policy Research called for an urgent review of the use of the Indeterminate Sentence for Public Protection (IPP). The report can be downloaded here.