2,339 people aged between 10 and 17 in the the Met Police area were convicted of crimes in the 12 months to March 2023 reports Adam Care, Data Reporter

Nearly a third of recently convicted young criminals in London reoffended within a year, latest figures show.

It comes as a prison reform charity warned the justice system routinely fails to give young offenders the support they need.

Latest figures from the Ministry of Justice show 2,339 people aged between 10 and 17 in the the Met Police area were convicted of crimes in the 12 months to March 2023.

Within a year of their conviction, 713 (30%) of them had already reoffended.

This was lower than the rate for those convicted in the previous 12 months, when it was 33%. A decade ago the figure stood at 46%.

The reoffending rate in London was also lower than the rate across England and Wales as a whole, which was 32% for those convicted in the year to March 2023.

Andrew Neilson, director of campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said contact with the criminal justice system regularly leads young people towards further offending, rather than rehabilitation.

“While reoffending is concerning, these figures do not come as a surprise,” he said.

“Academic research has shown that each contact a child has with the criminal justice system drags them deeper into it, leading to more crime.

“If a young child is in trouble or behaving in a concerning way, the priority should be to consider their welfare and understand the reasons why this is happening, and to get them the help and support they need.

“The Howard League has seen through its legal work that prisons holding children fail routinely to reach this standard.”

Across England and Wales, 86% of juvenile offenders convicted in the 12 months to March 2023 were male, and 77% of them were aged between 15 and 17.

Meanwhile, 70% of them were white, 16% were black and 5% were Asian. The remainder did not have their ethnicity recorded.

Collectively, the 713 reoffenders in London committed 2,484 offences after their initial convictions.

A government spokesperson said custody was only ever used as a last resort for children, and having fewer in prison means those who do remain there are potentially more likely to reoffend.

They added: “We need young offenders to turn their backs on a life of crime. These 2023 figures show that there is still a lot of work to do.

“This Government is increasing access to education. Through Youth Offending Teams, we are also steering young people away from ever pursuing a life of crime.”

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