The decision whether to grant bail or to remand a young person to the care of a local authority or to custody is a matter for the courts, which apply the statutory framework principally set out in the Bail Act 1976. The data in the tables have been supplied by the Youth Justice Board from administrative computer systems. Table A shows the number of remands to (prison) custody in each of the last five years and table B shows the number of remands to local authority care with a security requirement in each of the last five years. Statistics are available only by Youth Offending Team (YOT) area. Where the YOT covers more than one local authority area (as in Wessex, for example) it is not possible to indicate the young person’s home local authority.
Youth offending team 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Barking and Dagenham 41 30 46 23 31 Barnet 30 19 34 37 27 Barnsley 28 23 16 16 11 Bath and North East Somerset 12 9 11 12 11 Bedfordshire 36 32 17 23 32 Bexley 11 8 10 15 10 Birmingham 249 215 244 176 144 Blackburn with Darwen 24 17 14 16 13 Blackpool 21 20 21 26 30 Blaenau, Gwent and Caerphilly 17 8 31 9 9 Bolton 32 45 36 34 37 Bournemouth and Poole 24 28 16 13 8 Bracknell Forest 3 7 9 10 12 Bradford 63 58 52 68 76 Brent 30 33 42 44 58 Bridgend 15 15 11 13 12 Brighton and Hove 16 15 18 26 13 Bristol 53 35 55 61 76 Bromley 10 13 21 26 12 Buckinghamshire 15 7 12 5 10 Bury 13 8 15 15 9 Calderdale 26 19 7 24 24 Cambridgeshire 24 28 24 14 20 Camden 12 21 27 20 21 Cardiff 71 78 56 65 45 Carmarthenshire 10 14 23 13 18 Ceredigion1 n/a n/a 4 7 1 Cheshire 44 32 41 47 51 Conwy and Denbighshire 16 11 23 18 21 Cornwall 8 17 20 29 17 Coventry 65 64 48 38 32 Croydon 48 47 51 57 51 Cumbria 36 21 40 42 41 Darlington 13 8 9 8 4 Derby 38 47 29 33 39 Derbyshire 30 41 29 17 23 Devon 18 21 26 15 16 Doncaster 26 36 38 38 24 Dorset 6 15 4 10 5 Dudley 47 23 21 21 14 Durham 29 34 18 19 23 Ealing 17 21 50 68 58 East Riding of Yorkshire 2 5 12 9 9 East Sussex 18 25 18 28 22 Enfield 20 41 53 55 37 Essex 53 57 57 60 36 Flintshire 20 9 15 7 3 Gateshead 17 12 15 18 12 Gloucestershire 34 44 45 31 31 Greenwich 33 31 33 30 48 Gwynedd Mon 18 18 10 9 12 Hackney 51 57 57 75 69 Halton and Warrington 23 31 22 23 17 Hammersmith and Fulham 15 36 31 35 20 Haringey 57 50 55 58 50 Harrow 4 9 24 17 12 Hartlepool 4 6 11 8 16 Havering 1 7 20 20 24 Hertfordshire 63 47 56 36 41 Hillingdon 27 26 20 34 23 Hounslow 40 23 30 20 34 Islington 31 38 40 50 49 Kensington and Chelsea 22 10 10 21 19 Kent 72 71 85 51 80 Kingston-upon-Hull 61 65 68 83 49 Kingston-upon-Thames 1 6 12 8 11 Kirklees 42 42 34 25 25 Knowsley 29 17 16 20 18 Lambeth 42 56 79 77 83 Lancashire 74 97 91 89 68 Leeds 177 119 120 89 87 Leicester City 64 64 47 40 34 Leicestershire 48 28 31 22 24 Lewisham 46 45 55 36 45 Lincolnshire 32 17 26 26 14 Liverpool 96 89 71 65 64 Luton 35 27 22 15 15 Manchester 186 182 186 140 130 Medway 15 13 12 24 29 Merthyr Tydfil 7 10 17 14 8 Merton 12 16 18 15 16 Milton Keynes 9 23 21 20 17 Miscellaneous2 15 5 4 5 1 Monmouthshire and Torfaen 4 8 3 8 1 Neath Port Talbot 8 18 19 13 6 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 37 40 30 35 30 Newham 86 62 58 76 74 Newport 30 44 23 14 12 Norfolk 31 26 17 23 19 North East Lincolnshire 31 33 25 16 24 North Lincolnshire 22 12 27 20 18 North Somerset 10 4 2 3 9 North Tyneside 37 18 18 30 18 North Yorkshire 13 18 16 21 19 Northamptonshire 59 47 34 64 37 Northumberland 28 22 24 34 22 Nottingham 97 63 101 72 82 Nottinghamshire 33 29 31 31 22 Oldham 31 24 46 37 32 Oxfordshire 30 37 33 36 34 Pembrokeshire 1 2 6 2 11 Peterborough 31 25 20 28 26 Plymouth 23 16 19 34 17 Powys1 1 2 4 2 1 Reading3 23 24 22 14 20 Redbridge 28 24 40 41 27 Rhondda Cynon Taff 25 22 15 7 22 Richmond-upon-Thames 5 5 3 4 2 Rochdale 38 38 25 19 34 Rotherham 25 31 22 19 20 Salford 49 65 48 47 35 Sandwell 73 70 49 40 24 Sefton 9 18 30 15 29 Sheffield 59 45 50 61 76 Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin 15 14 14 14 21 Slough 9 10 15 19 15 Solihull 14 19 12 11 15 Somerset 19 22 16 15 17 South Gloucestershire 3 9 8 5 5 South Tees 38 38 43 29 35 South Tyneside 38 19 11 14 14 Southend-on-Sea 12 10 14 15 9 Southwark 48 61 65 61 68 St. Helens 17 11 7 4 6 Staffordshire 34 38 27 14 20 Stockport 23 22 29 15 16 Stockton-on-Tees 10 9 14 8 8 Stoke-on-Trent 36 38 34 28 23 Suffolk 31 37 18 19 30 Sunderland 35 36 26 36 14 Surrey 27 31 37 32 19 Sutton 11 18 11 8 13 Swansea 34 29 27 15 17 Swindon 14 17 8 10 9 Tameside 30 29 45 27 25 Thurrock 23 6 22 19 25 Torbay 4 3 3 9 5 Tower Hamlets and City of London 18 36 46 45 44 Trafford 36 39 31 31 23 Vale of Glamorgan 9 14 5 6 8 Wakefield 29 36 19 27 21 Walsall 23 30 29 27 21 Waltham Forest 30 32 38 38 32 Wandsworth 19 26 33 62 41 Warwickshire 18 24 31 28 10 Wessex 135 104 120 128 151 West Berkshire 1 5 7 4 5 West Sussex 50 55 43 52 53 Westminster 24 23 17 23 21 Wigan 29 23 28 18 19 Wiltshire 17 18 12 6 8 Windsor and Maidenhead 10 7 1 2 3 Wirral 44 26 17 33 17 Wokingham3 n/a n/a 0 4 6 Wolverhampton 33 36 30 24 16 Worcestershire and Herefordshire 70 55 34 23 30 Wrexham 0 0 2 17 18 York 25 26 24 22 32 Total 5,065 4,850 4,901 4,692 4,402
Youth offending team 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Barking and Dagenham 6 3 2 4 2 Barnet 3 3 7 2 2 Barnsley 1 0 2 1 1 Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 1 2 1 Bedfordshire 1 2 0 1 0 Bexley 2 6 1 0 1 Birmingham 34 29 28 26 16 Blackburn with Darwen 4 0 2 2 2 Blackpool 2 3 0 5 4 Blaenau, Gwent and Caerphilly 1 2 1 5 1 Bolton 3 9 5 8 3 Bournemouth and Poole 3 4 1 1 0 Bracknell Forest 0 0 2 0 0 Bradford 6 9 4 12 4 Brent 7 1 5 5 12 Bridgend 1 1 0 0 2 Brighton and Hove 3 3 2 5 6 Bristol 5 7 10 12 8 Bromley 3 5 5 0 6 Buckinghamshire 2 0 0 0 1 Bury 0 0 4 0 2 Calderdale 3 3 5 0 1 Cambridgeshire 0 0 2 1 1 Camden 3 2 1 7 2 Cardiff 7 3 5 10 1 Carmarthenshire 3 1 0 1 0 Ceredigion1 n/a n/a 0 0 0 Cheshire 8 9 5 4 2 Conwy and Denbighshire 1 5 3 2 0 Cornwall 1 3 0 0 1 Coventry 7 7 5 1 3 Croydon 2 4 8 6 3 Cumbria 6 4 2 5 4 Darlington 0 0 0 1 0 Derby 12 9 7 2 8 Derbyshire 2 6 4 3 1 Devon 2 3 4 0 4 Doncaster 3 5 6 2 0 Dorset 0 0 0 0 0 Dudley 5 3 3 1 0 Durham 3 4 2 2 4 Ealing 2 2 5 10 4 East Riding of Yorkshire 0 0 2 2 0 East Sussex 4 4 12 5 0 Enfield 3 4 6 1 3 Essex 4 3 10 7 3 Flintshire 0 0 0 0 0 Gateshead 3 3 5 5 6 Gloucestershire 8 10 7 0 2 Greenwich 7 6 1 5 7 Gwynedd Mon 0 1 0 1 0 Hackney 6 6 3 6 9 Halton and Warrington 2 1 4 2 4 Hammersmith and Fulham 4 1 3 13 5 Haringey 5 1 6 5 6 Harrow 1 4 3 4 2 Hartlepool 0 1 1 2 2 Havering 2 2 0 3 0 Hertfordshire 1 5 7 5 8 Hillingdon 0 4 2 3 5 Hounslow 3 3 1 1 3 Islington 3 2 8 9 10 Kensington and Chelsea 1 1 3 1 1 Kent 9 2 8 5 12 Kingston-upon-Hull 11 8 8 9 9 Kinston-upon-Thames 1 0 0 0 2 Kirklees 11 2 0 0 4 Knowsley 0 1 3 1 1 Lambeth 7 10 13 10 8 Lancashire 10 9 7 7 10 Leeds 36 7 5 12 11 Leicester City 10 4 3 3 5 Leicestershire 3 1 3 2 2 Lewisham 4 8 7 5 12 Lincolnshire 2 2 0 2 0 Liverpool 7 14 3 7 11 Luton 2 2 0 0 1 Manchester 24 33 42 40 16 Medway 2 3 2 3 3 Merthyr Tydfil 2 1 1 0 2 Merton 2 1 0 0 4 Milton Keynes 0 1 0 0 4 Miscellaneous2 0 0 0 0 0 Monmouthshire and Torfaen 1 1 1 1 1 Neath Port Talbot 2 1 0 5 4 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 0 10 5 5 5 Newham 9 11 11 11 10 Newport 3 3 4 0 2 Norfolk 1 1 3 2 5 North East Lincolnshire 8 5 4 5 5 North Lincolnshire 10 3 14 4 3 North Somerset 0 1 1 1 2 North Tyneside 2 11 2 3 2 North Yorkshire 0 4 0 0 2 Northamptonshire 11 4 4 7 11 Northumberland 3 3 4 1 1 Nottingham 14 8 18 14 12 Nottinghamshire 1 2 3 4 9 Oldham 2 4 9 7 7 Oxfordshire 5 7 7 9 8 Pembrokeshire 0 0 0 0 0 Peterborough 2 9 6 5 0 Plymouth 3 2 1 7 3 Powys1 0 0 0 0 0 Reading3 1 0 0 0 6 Redbridge 3 8 7 2 3 Rhondda Cynon Taff 2 0 0 3 0 Richmond-upon-Thames 2 2 1 1 1 Rochdale 3 4 3 5 9 Rotherham 2 0 0 0 3 Salford 10 13 6 4 6 Sandwell 14 5 10 3 1 Sefton 0 2 2 3 0 Sheffield 9 12 17 11 17 Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin 3 1 0 0 1 Slough 0 1 1 0 0 Solihull 0 2 4 0 6 Somerset 1 4 3 0 2 South Gloucestershire 0 1 0 0 2 South Tees 1 5 4 6 9 South Tyneside 6 2 3 3 0 Southend-on-Sea 1 1 3 2 3 Southwark 4 2 11 6 14 St. Helens 1 0 0 1 3 Staffordshire 4 4 1 0 0 Stockport 4 2 4 2 1 Stockton-on-Tees 0 1 2 0 1 Stoke-on-Trent 6 6 11 5 6 Suffolk 1 7 2 0 3 Sunderland 1 4 3 3 3 Surrey 1 6 0 1 4 Sutton 0 1 1 0 3 Swansea 1 2 1 4 3 Swindon 0 1 2 1 2 Tameside 5 10 5 2 0 Thurrock 1 1 0 0 1 Torbay 0 0 2 0 1 Tower Hamlets and City of London 6 1 3 1 6 Trafford 7 10 15 11 7 Vale of Glamorgan 0 0 0 1 3 Wakefield 1 5 1 6 2 Walsall 0 1 2 4 0 Waltham Forest 6 2 4 5 7 Wandsworth 9 4 5 5 7 Warwickshire 2 7 1 4 5 Wessex 15 10 10 19 28 West Berkshire 1 0 0 3 0 West Sussex 4 8 6 5 2 Westminster 0 3 1 0 4 Wigan 0 6 0 1 1 Wiltshire 1 0 1 1 0 Windsor and Maidenhead 0 0 0 0 0 Wirral 6 5 5 13 7 Wokingham3 n/a n/a 0 2 2 Wolverhampton 3 5 2 0 7 Worcestershire and Herefordshire 3 5 4 2 6 Wrexham 0 0 0 1 3 York 3 1 6 0 1 Total 588 604 610 578 610 1 Powys and Ceredigion was a combined YOT prior to April 2005. Earlier figures under “Powys” refer to Powys and Ceredigion. 2 Young people whose YOT has not been identified. 3 Reading and Wokingham was a combined YOT prior to April 2007. Earlier figures under “Reading” refer to Reading and Wokingham.
The Government believe that young people should only be sent to custody as a last resort. Young people aged 12-16 may be remanded to the care of a local authority with a requirement that they be accommodated in secure conditions. Boys aged 15 and 16 may be remanded to (prison) custody (in practice, a young offender institution) in certain circumstances. Young people aged 17 are treated, in legal terms, as adults, and may not be remanded to local authority care. (Again, they would be placed in an under-18 young offender institution.) Between 1 May 2008 and 30 April 2009, the average length of a remand in custody episode was 40 days and the average length of a remand to the care of a local authority with a security requirement was 47 days.
The information in the following tables covers the period 1 May 2008 to 30 April 2009. It has been supplied by the Youth Justice Board from administrative systems. Section 23 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969 empowers a court to remand a young person aged 12 to 16 to the care of a local authority, with a requirement that he or she is kept in secure accommodation. In certain circumstances, 15 and 16-year-old boys may be remanded to prison custody. In legal terms, 17-year-olds are treated as adults for remand purposes, but would be accommodated in an under-18 young offender institution. 18-year-olds are accommodated in the young adult estate: the Youth Justice Board does not collect data in respect of them.
The data in the tables cover each remand “episode”; some young people may have been remanded more than once during the period.
Age Number 12 13 13 75 14 251 15 158 16 141 Total 638
Age Number of remand episodes 15 488 16 1,075 17 2,688 Total 4,251