David Lammy launches reforms to reduce UK youth prison sentences and protect vulnerable children

Justice Secretary David Lammy has announced plans to ensure the number of children detained before trial is reduced by 25% by the end of this parliamentary term. The Ministry of Justice also plans to launch a lifetime criminal record review for under-18s, establish new youth intervention courts and introduce tougher parental accountability measures for children involved in crime. For Lamy, the reforms are linked to his personal experience growing up at Tottenham Hotspur in the 1980s. As a child, prison was always a looming threat to him because so many black boys like him were ensnared in the criminal justice system for missing school and committing petty crimes.“Growing up in Tottenham Hotspur in the 1980s, my biggest fear was to end up in jail,” he said, as quoted by The Guardian. “It may sound irrational, but in fact it was the fate of many young black boys like me.”“You see things happen slowly in the beginning. People skip school, get into little trouble and start hanging out with the wrong crowd. No one steps in to bring them back. To us, going to jail doesn’t feel shocking or distant. It feels almost inevitable. I could have been one of them but was lucky enough to get a scholarship to a state boarding school which gave me a way out that no one else had,” he added.Lammy said short-term detention made children and young people more likely to commit crimes in the future. He said: “For the most serious crimes, detention will always be necessary to protect the public; that will never change.”“But for many children, even brief stays inside can cause lasting damage, disrupting the most formative years of their lives and sometimes exposing them to further violence and criminality.”The Ministry of Justice intends to allocate £15 million a year to dedicated teams to help children at risk of engaging in criminal activity. Increases in community sentences and reductions in remand are expected to reduce the number of young prisoners by 20 per cent.The measures will include the creation of criminal child exploitation offenses for adults who incite children to commit crimes. These will be delivered through judges and support staff at the Youth Intervention Pilot Courts, who will develop individualized plans.Children’s Commissioner Rachel de Souza supports the proposals. She said: “I have always been aware of the need to reform the youth justice system.“We must develop an approach that keeps children safe, keeps them as safe from crime as possible and prioritizes meaningful behavior change.”