Child convictions and cautions fall to record low

THE number of children convicted or cautioned for the first time in Leicestershire has fallen to a record low.

New figures show that 104 youngsters aged between 10 and 17 received either a conviction or a caution from police in the county in 2017/18.

That is down from 110 the previous year and is the lowest since at least 2007/08, when figures were first published.

That year, 852 children passed through the criminal justice system for the first time.

That figure has fallen nearly every year since, which experts have said is likely down to the more “human” approach adopted by police.

The 104 children convicted or cautioned in Leicestershire in 2017/18 works out at a rate of one in every 589 aged between 10 and 17.

The situation in the Leicestershire mirrors a national trend.

Across England and Wales there were 14,373 children convicted or cautioned in 2017/18. That is down 14 per cent from 16,704 the previous year.

The data also shows the total number of children who were cautioned or sentenced - regardless of whether it was their first time or not.

A total 164 children passed through the youth justice system in 2017/18 in Leicestershire - down from 181 the previous year and the lowest level since at least 2013/14, when youth offending team figures were first published.