The large number of teenagers in custody in the UK could be reduced with the use of 'radical approaches' being employed overseas, a report has found.
The Prison Reform Trust found the use of measures currently being practiced abroad to tackle youth crime could effectively reduce the number of British teenagers in custody.
Report authors Enver Solomon and Rob Allen, director of the International Centre for Prison Studies, found policymakers in Canada and New York responded to costly and damaging levels of youth custody by completely rethinking their approach to dealing with youth crime.
In New York the number of children in custody declined 27 per cent between 2000 and 2006, and in Canada the rate fell by a third when new laws were passed to use custody only as a last resort.
England and Wales has one of the highest child custody populations in the western world, with the number more than tripling between 1991 and 2006. The trust has today published research, entitled 'Reducing child imprisonment in England and Wales - lessons from abroad', and its authors say the radical action taken in other countries could well aid the situation if applied to the UK.
Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: 'It is all too easy to give up on children in trouble or to believe that nothing works.
'Drawing on sound international evidence, this report shows that it is perfectly possible to cut youth crime and, at the same time, reduce the number of young people damaged by needless imprisonment.'
Today's report has been commissioned from the International Centre for Prison Studies as part of the Prison Reform Trust's Out of Trouble programme. The aim of this five year programme is to reduce the number of children and young people imprisoned in the UK. The programme is supported by the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.
Penelope Gibbs, director of the Out of Trouble programme, said: 'Child imprisonment is ineffective and frequently inhumane.
'Other countries like Canada have recognised this and taken radical action.
'This report shows our government that courage in taking on the doubters can pay dividends.'
The Prison Reform Trust found the use of measures currently being practiced abroad to tackle youth crime could effectively reduce the number of British teenagers in custody.
Report authors Enver Solomon and Rob Allen, director of the International Centre for Prison Studies, found policymakers in Canada and New York responded to costly and damaging levels of youth custody by completely rethinking their approach to dealing with youth crime.
In New York the number of children in custody declined 27 per cent between 2000 and 2006, and in Canada the rate fell by a third when new laws were passed to use custody only as a last resort.
England and Wales has one of the highest child custody populations in the western world, with the number more than tripling between 1991 and 2006. The trust has today published research, entitled 'Reducing child imprisonment in England and Wales - lessons from abroad', and its authors say the radical action taken in other countries could well aid the situation if applied to the UK.
Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: 'It is all too easy to give up on children in trouble or to believe that nothing works.
'Drawing on sound international evidence, this report shows that it is perfectly possible to cut youth crime and, at the same time, reduce the number of young people damaged by needless imprisonment.'
Today's report has been commissioned from the International Centre for Prison Studies as part of the Prison Reform Trust's Out of Trouble programme. The aim of this five year programme is to reduce the number of children and young people imprisoned in the UK. The programme is supported by the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.
Penelope Gibbs, director of the Out of Trouble programme, said: 'Child imprisonment is ineffective and frequently inhumane.
'Other countries like Canada have recognised this and taken radical action.
'This report shows our government that courage in taking on the doubters can pay dividends.'
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