This interactive timeline charts the history of the youth justice system from the first of its reforms in 1998, to June 2008.

Click and drag on the bar above to view different years. Click on an event to read more and, in most cases, find links to further information on the web. When you click on an individual event, lines will appear linking it to other associated events in the timeline.

Events have been loosely categorised into the following four themes.

• Legislation and reports
  This section contains the laws, legislation, white and green papers, reports, audits, and Government initiatives and strategies that have shaped the current youth justice system.
• YJB
  This section highlights the key milestones in the history of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB) and the work it has done since its creation in 1998.
• Community
  This section includes the programmes, schemes and projects carried out by youth offending teams (YOTs) and other agencies to prevent offending and reduce reoffending.
• Custody
  This section shows the major developments that have occurred over the past ten years in the secure estate for children and young people, which is made up of young offender institutions (YOIs), secure training centres (STCs) and secure children's homes.

Click for an accessible HTML version of this timeline.