The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has published a report on repeat offending by children and young people in England and Wales. The report studied at a cohort of young people to consider the intersection between reoffending and the needs, characteristics and offending patterns of children and young people in the youth justice system.
‘Prolific Young Offenders’
The report defines a prolific young offender (PYO) as an individual who: (i) was 18 years old in 2019 and had a conviction for an offence committed in that year, and (ii) had been convicted in a criminal court at least three times for offences committed between ages ten and 17. In contrast, ‘Non-PYOs’ were individuals meeting limb (i), but who had been convicted in a criminal court no more than twice for offences committed between ages ten and 17.
Findings
In terms of the characteristics of PYOs, the report found that:
- young men are more likely to both offend and become PYOs than females, with young men accounting for 94% of the group;
- Black and Mixed young people were overrepresented in the PYO population when compared with the national population of 18-year-olds; and
- PYOs had greater socioeconomic disadvantage than Non-PYOs and the wider 18-year-old population. Over a quarter (27%) of PYOS lived in the 10% most deprived areas.
In terms of the offending patterns of PYOs, the report found that:
- most PYOs were first convicted for offences committed between ages 14 and 16;
- nearly one half of PYOs had four to six convictions before age 18;
- over a quarter of PYOs received at least one immediate custodial sentence before age 18; and
- the more youth convictions an offender had, the more likely they were to continue offending frequently as adults.
In terms of the needs of PYOs, the report found that the cohort had greater needs across the board. The report analysed data concerning eight ‘criminogenic’ categories which are understood to be areas which contribute to a person reoffending – these being (i) Accommodation, (ii) Employability, (iii) Relationships, (iv) Lifestyle, (v) Drug Misuse, (vi) Alcohol Misuse, (vii) Thinking & Behaviour, and (viii) Attitudes. The report concluded that PYO rates of criminogenic need were higher across all eight categories.
Moreover, the report found that the most prevalent need was ‘Lifestyle and Associates’, which concerns risk-taking behaviour, association with criminal peers and engagement in activities that encourage offending, whilst the level of need across the areas of ‘Attitudes’, ‘Thinking and Behaviour’ and ‘Employment’ were all very high among the cohort.
In particular, the report found that PYOs had the greatest increase in criminogenic need compared to Non-PYOs with respect to the following:
- significant problems with regular activities that encourage offending;
- significant issues with school attendance;
- significant problems with being easily influenced by criminal associates; and
- evidence of childhood behavioural problems.
Commentary
Thanks to the data analysis reflected in the report, we now have a clearer understanding of the potentially indicative characteristics, offending patterns and criminogenic needs of prolific young offenders.
The fact that frequent offenders in childhood have a greater level of need across the board will not surprise practitioners but they should heed these factors to identify them and properly support children and young people with a statistically heightened risk of reoffending.
Youth practitioners should seek to integrate these indicators into their everyday decision-making processes; for example, by making pleas in mitigation that focus on the impact of these factors on children’s culpability or tailoring sentencing submissions to address areas understood to increase chances of reoffending.
This is of critical importance given that the report found the likelihood of reoffending in adulthood was higher for those PYOs with more Youth Convictions; and, despite comprising only 9% of the offending population, recent evidence suggests that adult prolific offenders have a disproportionate impact on the justice system, accounting for over half (52%) of all convictions between 2001 and 2021.
Policymakers are also encouraged to meaningfully engage with the report’s insights and adapt existing policy approaches as a means of improving the outcomes of, and reducing the likelihood of reoffending for, children and young people in the justice system.