In response to the criminal justice reforms set out by the government today, Anne Owers, Chair of the Transition to Adulthood Alliance said:

“The T2A Alliance welcomes the Prime Minister’s remarks today that he wants to see more tough community sentences, instead of short prison sentences that are expensive and can be ineffective. We also welcome that he raised the fact that 30% of prisoners were once children in care of the state, and that this needs to be addressed.

“However, we are disappointed that the Bill contains no specific proposals to introduce systemic changes to improve the criminal justice system for young adults. 18-24 year olds account for just ten percent of the population, but they account for a third of those sentenced to prison each year, a third of the probation service case load and a third of the total economic and social costs of crime. Half re-offend within a year of release from prison, which clearly shows an urgent need for reform to support young people in their transition to adulthood to move away from crime.”