12 January 2023
As we start the new year, the chair of the T2A Alliance Leroy Logan MBE reflects on a key 2022 report from Sheffield and Manchester Universities: Young adults in court: shrinking numbers and increasing disparities
A recent report from the Sheffield and Manchester Universities found that, over the last ten years, the number of young adults appearing in court has reduced significantly. In theory, this news should be warmly greeted, but the factors behind this reduction are not yet fully clear.
And while the rate of custodial sentences among young people has fallen by 40%, it’s still twice as high as for those over 24 years of age – and 12 times higher than for those who are under 18.
Young adults continue to be over-represented in the criminal justice system, and that’s why it’s crucial that we employ a distinct approach to their unique needs. When we get these interventions right, we know that young adults are less likely to reoffend and have a better chance of making a positive start to life after release.
The report authors, Nathan Hughes and Todd Hartman, also highlighted the widely varying rates of court appearances across England and Wales. In 2017-18, 8.4 per one thousand young adults in Devon and Cornwall made a court appearance. By contrast, the rate of appearances in the area covered by the Metropolitan Police was 23.1. What is causing this disparity in rates?
Unfortunately, insufficient data is available to compare the practices of different areas. If regional data was recorded in more detail, we could better understand the variations in local practice – and how these learnings could be applied nationally .
Race and ethnicity featured prominently in the report too. Hughes and Hartman found that ‘non-white’ young adults are now appearing in court and being sentenced to immediate custody at 1.7 times the rate of ‘white’ young adults. What’s even more concerning is that this gap has grown in the last ten years.
It’s equally challenging to understand the full picture here as data on ethnicity only started to be recorded in 2009-10, and the population size of each ethnic group is estimated – hence the use of the imprecise terms, ‘white’ and ‘non-white’, in this report. The authors quite rightly call for more robust monitoring of data on ethnicity, which T2A fully supports.
It’s only with access to this data that we can begin to properly address the significant disadvantages faced by young Black and minority ethnic adults. Here at T2A, we remain committed to ending the racial disparities that impact the lives of young people in the criminal justice system. They deserve much better, and we will continue to do everything we can to achieve this.
