England’s Children’s Commissioner Calls for Closure of Young Offender Institutions — Why Prevention and Opportunity Must Replace Youth Custody
Posted on:
The call for urgent reform in England’s youth justice system has reached a critical point. In her latest report, England’s children’s commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, has demanded the complete closure of Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) — describing them as unsafe, ineffective, and deeply damaging for vulnerable children.
Her findings highlight a shocking misuse of custody across England and Wales:
- 62% of children remanded to custody in 2023–24 did not receive a custodial sentence.
- 17% (168 children) had their case dismissed entirely.
- Many young people were detained not because they posed the highest risk, but due to failing services, poor safeguarding, lack of placements, and inadequate community support.
For too long, youth custody has been the default response when support systems break down. YOIs, plagued by violence, instability, and poor rehabilitation outcomes, are being used as a “holding pen” for children the system does not know how to support.
But the data goes even further.
The Hidden Crisis: Who Ends Up in YOIs?
National youth justice statistics reveal that:
- Over 70% of children in YOIs have been involved with social care at some point.
- Nearly 90% have experienced school exclusion or persistent absence.
- More than half have mental-health needs, often undiagnosed or unsupported.
- Children from Black and minority backgrounds remain disproportionately represented.
- Many children in YOIs are aged just 15–16 years old.
These are not children who need punishment — they need protection, stability, and opportunity.
Youth Justice Teams Must Do More on Prevention
The commissioner’s report makes one thing painfully clear:
Prevention is failing.
Youth justice teams, local authorities, and safeguarding boards must shift their approach from crisis response to early intervention. Prevention must include:
- Stronger diversion pathways for young people at risk.
- Faster access to mental-health support.
- Reliable placements, including specialist foster care and secure homes.
- Effective NEET prevention, including skills, mentoring, and meaningful progression routes.
- Community-led opportunities that reconnect young people with education, enterprise, and belonging.
Without early action, children fall through gaps that lead straight to youth custody.
When Support Fails, Custody Fills the Void
Children are being remanded because:
- There are no safe placements available.
- Local services cannot agree a plan.
- They lack trusted adults or stable homes.
- Agencies prioritise risk avoidance over support.
As a result, custody becomes the easiest — not the most appropriate — option.
This is a moral failure.
Opportunity Is the Real Alternative to Custody
At Genuine Futures, we see every day what happens when communities offer opportunity instead of punishment.
Through programmes like Boss Your Future, We Shine Any Car, and the Young Futures Hub, young people find:
- Mentoring and emotional support
- Enterprise skills and real-life work experience
- A safe place to belong
- A pathway into employment, training, or business start-up
- A voice and role in shaping their community
These are the protective factors that stop young people entering the youth justice system in the first place.
A System Built on Care, Not Custody
Dame Rachel de Souza’s proposal to close all YOIs is not radical — it is necessary.
Replacing YOIs with:
- Small, therapeutic children’s homes
- Specialist foster care
- Community-based alternatives
- Purpose-driven youth opportunities
…would dramatically reduce reoffending, improve wellbeing, and give young people a future worth fighting for.
It’s Time for a New Youth Justice Vision
The youth justice system must adopt one guiding principle:
Prevention first. Opportunity always. Custody only when absolutely necessary.
Young people do not need concrete walls, barred doors, and punishment.
They need hope, trust, purpose, belonging — and a route back into society.
Until we fix prevention, build better community support, and invest in opportunity, the cycle will continue.
At Genuine Futures, we stand ready to be part of that solution.