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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Helen Pidd

No very young children imprisoned in England and Wales since 2010, MoJ data shows

abstract image showing an inmate at a young offenders institution – their shadow is seen on the floor alongside prison bars
No 10- or 11-year-old children were sent to custody in England and Wales in the year to March 2022. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

No 10- or 11-year-olds have been imprisoned in England and Wales since 2010, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has said, as the criminal justice system becomes ever more reluctant to criminalise primary-school-age children.

There has been a huge drop in the number of very young children cautioned or convicted in England and Wales in recent years.

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