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Level of youth custody a 'national disgrace'
Nacro has strongly backed the Childen's Commissioners' warning that Britain's youth justice system needlessly criminalises children. Paul Cavadino, Nacro's Chief Executive, said:
"Our age of criminal responsibility of 10 years is astonishingly low by European standards. It is a Dickensian approach to prosecute children who in other countries would be dealt with by compulsory measures of care.
"The size of our youth custodial population is a national disgrace. Every year we lock up thousands of young people with histories of physical and sexual abuse, parental neglect, family conflict, school exclusion, substance abuse and mental health problems. This over-use of custody absorbs vast resources which would be better spent on tackling the causes of these problems by preventive work in the community."
ENDS
Children's Commissioners, youth crime, custody, youth justice system, Paul Cavadino
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