At the end of October 2007 there were 9,544 young people aged 18-20 in prison in England and Wales.  Whilst in custody many young adults are frequently moved around the prison estate causing great disruption and distress.  In general, they also experience impoverished regimes.  Nearly half of first time offenders are young adults.  Find press statements made by the Prison Reform Trust on young people in prison here.

Key facts

• At the end of October 2007 there were 9,544 young people aged 18-20 in prison in England and Wales, a rise of 3% on the year before. At the end of October 2007 more young people were in prison for the offence of violence against the person than any other offence.
• Young offender direct sentenced receptions in Scotland increased by 5% to 2,286 in 2006/07 from 2,170 in 2005/06.
• In October 2007, 74% more young people were in custody serving indeterminate sentences than in October 2006.The total number increased from 373 in October 2006 to 648 in 2007.
• HM Chief Inspector of Prisons said in her annual report for 2005/6: “Young adults remain a group whose needs have not been systematically addressed over the last five years, in spite of their evident needs and their high reoffending rates”.
• In 2005 12,644 young people were sent to prison under sentence. In the last ten years the number of sentenced young adults entering prison has increased by 14%. Over that time the number of sentenced young women imprisoned has more than doubled.
• A study published in November 2004 by the Prison Reform Trust based on interviews with young people and information supplied by Independent Monitoring Boards revealed that whilst in custody many young adults are frequently moved around the prison estate causing great disruption and distress. It also showed that, in general, they experience impoverished regimes.
• In January 2007, 2,647 young offenders, approximately a quarter of the total, were held more than 50 miles from their home.  HM Chief Inspector of Prisons has commented that: “these considerable distances from home compromises the resettlement and rehabilitation of young adults”.
• Fewer than half of young adults surveyed by HM Prisons Inspectorate said that they knew where to get help to find accommodation, drug treatment or continuing education when they left prison.
• Reconviction rates are particularly high for young people. 74.8% of young men released from prison in 2004, were reconvicted within two years of release.
• Nearly half (42%) of first time offenders are young adults.
• Young offenders have poor literacy and numeracy skills. Just under a third have basic skills deficits compared to under a quarter of those aged 25 and over in custody. Nearly three-quarters were excluded from school at some stage, and 63 % were unemployed at the time of their arrest.
• In 2004-5, 54% of those leaving young offender institutions had no recorded education, training or employment place. 13% left with no recorded accommodation.
• More than a third (35%) of sentenced young men say they have gained a qualification whilst in prison. 
• HM Prisons Inspectorate found that purposeful activity was unsatisfactory in five out of eight young adult prisons. Half of young adults said they had done something that would help prevent reoffending.  
• An average of 3.3 hours per week is spent on physical education in Young offender institutions in 2006-07. An average of eight hours per week is spent on other educational activities. 
• Mental health problems, drug and alcohol abuse are common amongst young people in prison. They are more likely than adults to suffer from mental health problems and are more likely to commit or attempt suicide than both younger and older prisoners (see below for statistics relating to 16-18 year olds).
• Up to 30% of young women in custody report having been sexually abused in childhood.
• It is estimated that a quarter of young men in prison are fathers and four out ten young women in prison are mothers.
• Young offender institutions and juvenile establishments have the highest assault rates of any prisons in England and Wales.

For full references, please see the Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile