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Youth Justice System

Placing Children and Young People in Custody

The YJB is responsible for placing young people in custody when:

• they have been remanded or sentenced by a court
• a young person has been made subject to a court-ordered secure remand, in which circumstance we seek a suitable place for them in either a secure children’s home or secure training centre (STC) in consultation with the local authority.

Criteria for placement

The YJB allocates young people to the various types of custodial establishment based upon:

• vulnerability (see below), as assessed by the youth offending team (YOT)
• specific needs, such as a disability or need for a specific programme
• available beds
• competing demand for beds
• location
• age.

Vulnerability

The vulnerability of a young person is determined by an assessment, completed by the YOT, called Asset, which the YOT then sends to the YJB.

The key factors from this assessment that determine the vulnerability of a young person, and therefore influence what type of custodial establishment they are placed in, include:

• risk of self-harm
• having been bullied, abused, neglected or depressed
• separation, loss or care episodes
• risk taking
• substance misuse
• other health-related needs
• the ability to cope in a young offender institution (YOI) or other custodial establishment.

Ideally, a young person sentenced to custody will be placed in a custodial establishment that is close to their family and home and provides an environment that is suited to their needs, based on the information from their assessment.

Who goes to which type of custodial establishment and why?

The table below sets out by gender, age and vulnerability the type of place that the YJB would allocate a young person with those characteristics. To find out why a particular type of custodial establishment is more appropriate to meet the needs of that particular type of young person, visit the Custody section for descriptions of each type of establishment or click the links in the table.

When the population in custody is high, it is not always possible to place young people in the type of establishment identified below or as close to their home as we would wish because there are a limited number of places of each type. Please click to find out how many of each type of place there are.

To see the latest statistics on the secure estate population, please click to see our custody figures page.