Safety in the Children and Young People Secure Estate: Update to December 2021
Published 28 April 2022
Applies to England and Wales
© Crown copyright 2022
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-the-children-and-young-people-secure-estate-update-to-december-2021/safety-in-the-children-and-young-people-secure-estate-update-to-december-2021
Main Points
| 447 assault incidents Oct to Dec 2021, of which 31 were serious 336 different children and young people involved as assailants or fighters |
The annualised rate of assault incidents per 100 children and young people per year was 347 in the 3 months to December 2021, a decrease of 10% compared to the same period last year. The number of individual children and young people involved in incidents as assailants or fighters decreased 11% in the 3 months to December 2021 compared to the same period last year, from 379 to 336. |
| 224 assault incidents on staff Oct to Dec 2021, of which 26 were serious | The annualised rate of assault incidents on staff per 100 children and young people per year was 174 in the 3 months to December 2021, a decrease of 16% compared to the same period last year. |
| 281 self-harm incidents Oct to Dec 2021 75 different children and young people self-harmed Oct to Dec 2021 |
The annualised rate of self-harm incidents per 100 children and young people per year was 218 in the 3 months to December 2021, an increase of 50% compared to the same period last year. The number of individual children and young people self-harming decreased 14% in the 3 months to December 2021 compared to the same period last year, from 87 to 75. |
| No deaths reported in the year to 31 Dec 2021 | The last death in the Children and Young People Secure Estate was in June 2019 |
The Safety in the Children and Young People Secure Estate Bulletin reports assault and self-harm incidents and deaths from April 2014 to September 2021. The information covers the period of the Covid-19 pandemic, which must be considered and accounted for in every aspect of the information presented and when comparing time periods.
1. Statistician’s Comment
These statistics present data up until 31 December 2021 on incidents of assault, self-harm and death across each sector of the Children and Young People Secure Estate (CYPSE).
From the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic the Youth Custody Service has adapted to official guidance on the prevention of the spread of infection, which inevitably impacted activity delivery from March 2020. The impact of COVID-19 should be considered when reviewing all aspects of these statistics.
Throughout these statistics the latest reporting quarter is compared to the same period in the previous year.
The CYPSE has seen a decrease across most sectors in the rate of assault in comparison to the same period in the previous year, with Youth Offender Institutes being the exception. Secure Training Centres (STC) continue to have the highest rate of incidents of assaults when compared to the other sectors.
The STC’s rate of assault was 900 per 100 CYP per year for the 3 months to 31 December 2021 (October to December), this is a decrease of 11% in comparison to the same period the previous year. Youth Offender Institutions (YOI) hold the majority of the Children in the Young People Secure Estate population, and had the lowest rate of assault incidents in the 3 months to 31 December 2021 at 299 per 100 CYP per year, which was a 21% increase in comparison to the same period last year. Secure Children’s Homes (SCH) population includes the younger and often most complex Children and Young People within the CYPSE and for the 3 months to 31 December 2021 the rate of assault incidents was 361 per 100 CYP per year, which amounts to a 29% decrease in comparison to the same period last year.
It is shown that the following groups have a higher rate of involvement in assaults, as an assailant or fighter; girls, 15-year olds, black ethnic groups, and children with Christian religious beliefs.
There has been an increase in the rate of self-harm in comparison to the same period in the previous year across all three sectors. The rate of self-harm differs across the sectors and is typically influenced by a few individuals self-harming multiple times. The highest rate for the 3 months to 31 December 2021 was recorded at STCs at 768 per 100 CYP per year, this is a 28% increase in comparison to the previous year. The SCHs saw a rate of self-harm incidents of 611 per 100 CYP per year for the 3 months to 31 December 2021, with an increase of 397% in comparison to the same period in 2020. In YOIs the rate of self-harm was 96 per 100 CYP per year for the 3 months to 31 December 2021, up 68%. Whilst all three sectors showed an increase of self-harm when compared to the same period in the previous year, the rate of self-harm is substantially lower than the other two sectors in YOIs.
It is shown that the following groups have a high rate of self-harm: girls, 15-year olds, White ethnic groups, children of other religions[footnote 1] and of Muslim religious beliefs.
No deaths of Children and Young People have been reported since June 2019.
2. Assaults: April 2014 to December 2021
Assault incident rate decreased compared to same period last year.
In the 3 months to December 2021, there were 447 assault incidents in the Children and Young People Secure Estate (CYPSE) involving 336 different children and young people (CYP) as assailants or fighters. The annualised rate of assault incidents was 347 per 100 CYP per year, a decrease of 10% compared to the same period in 2020 when the rate was 386.
Assault incidents on staff rate decreased compared to same period last year
In the 3 months to December 2021, there were 224 incidents in the CYPSE where staff were assaulted. The annualised rate of assault incidents on staff was 174 per 100 CYP per year, a decrease of 16% compared to the same period in 2020 when the rate was 207 per 100 CYP per year.
| Figure 1: Rate of assaults and fights by quarter - April 2014 to March 2018 | Figure 2: Rate of assault incidents per 100 CYP per year April 2019 to December 2021 |
The definition and counting rules of assaults changed from April 2019 (April 2018 for Young Offender Institutions (YOI)) and hence no long-term trends are available and there was no estate-wide figure in 2018/19. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the trends before and after the break respectively.
The rate of assault incidents fell substantially at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the last full quarter prior to the pandemic, the 3 months to 31 December 2019, the assault rate per 100 CYP per year was 466. During the 3 months to 30 June 2020 incidents fell to their lowest since the current assaults’ definition was introduced, down to 204 per 100 CYP per year. Following this, there were quarter on quarter increases until the 3 months to 30 June 2021 where the rate of assault incidents was 464 per 100 CYP per year, just below the level recorded in the last full quarter prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 3 months to 31 December 2019. For the most recent quarter, the 3 months to 31 December 2021, the rate of assault is 347 per 100 CYP which is down from the previous 3 months to 30 September 2021 and a 10% decrease in comparison to the same period last year, the 3 months to 31 December 2020.
The rate of incidents involving a staff assault also fell during the early months of the pandemic, reaching a low of 139 per 100 CYP per year, but this began to rise in the following quarters to the 3 months to 30 June 2021. In the latest 3 months to 31 December 2021 there were 224 assault incidents on staff at a rate of 174 per 100 CYP per year, a 16% decrease compared to the same 3 months last year where the rate was 207.
The rate of serious assaults in the 3 months to 31 December 2021 was 24 per 100 CYP per year, which is an increase in comparison to the same period last year where the rate was 23.
During the 3 months to 31 December 2021 there were 336 unique assailants / fighters compared to 379 over the same period in 2020. A rate increase is indicated in the context of the average population falling 16% between the two-quarter periods. Over the 12 months to 31 December 2021 there were 855 unique CYP involved in an incident as either an assailant or fighter compared to 943 over the 12 months to 31 December 2020. A rate increase is indicated in the context of the average population falling 22% between the two-year periods.
During the 3 months to 31 December 2021 there were 92 unique CYP victims compared to 124 over the same period in 2020. The number of unique victims among children and young people was 376 in the 12 months to 30 December 2021, down from 445 in the 12 months to 31 December 2020. A rate increase is indicated in the context of the average population falling 22% between the two-year periods.
Figure 3: Rate of assault incidents per 100 CYP per year - October to December 2020 and October to December 2021
The rate of assault incidents during the 3 months to 31 December 2021 was lower across the STC and SCH sectors of the CYPSE when compared to the same period last year, but higher in the YOI sector. As previously highlighted, changes must be considered in the context of these periods within the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The rate of assaults during the 3 months to 31 December 2021, increased 21% in YOIs compared to the same period last year, increasing from 246 to 299 per 100 CYP. For STCs there was an 11% decrease and a 29% decrease in SCHs.
The lowest assault rates in the 3 months to 31 December 2021 were recorded in YOIs. In the 3 months to 31 December 2021, the comparative rate of assaults across the sectors were 299 per 100 CYP per year in YOIs, 900 in STCs and 361 in SCHs.
The rate of assaults on staff in the 3 months to 31 December 2021 was highest within STCs at 612 per 100 CYP per year, a 15% decrease compared to the same period last year. For SCHs the rate is 285 per 100 CYP per year, a 26% decrease compared to the same period last year. In YOIs the rate for the 3 months to 31 December 2021 is 116 per 100 CYP per year, a 38% increase on the same period last year.
In terms of protected characteristics, the rates of involvement as an assailant or fighter over the 12 months to 31 December 2021 were higher than other groups for girls at 1,174 per 100 CYP per year, for 15 year-olds at 1,112 per 100 CYP; for CYP from black ethnic groups at 886 per 100 CYP, and for Christians at 751 per 100 CYP.
The groups with the highest rate of involvement as a victim were 16-year olds, at 109 per 100 CYP per year and CYP from black ethnic groups at 118 per 100 CYP per year.
Figure 4: Rate of assailant / fighters by protected characteristic – January to December 2021
3. Self-Harm: April 2014 to December 2021
Self-harm incidents increasing and up on the same period last year
In the 3 months to 31 December 2021 there were 281 incidents of self-harm involving 75 different CYP. The annualised rate was 218 incidents per 100 CYP per year, an increase of 50% compared to the same period last year.
Figure 5: Annualised rate of self-harm incidents per 100 children and young people in custody
The rate of self-harm incidents fell significantly during the first 9 months of the COVID-19 pandemic but increased sharply in the 3 months to 30 June 2021 to 345 per 100 CYP per year, the highest self-harm rate since 2014. The self-harm rate for the 3 months to 31 December 2021 has reduced from this peak at 218 per 100 CYP per year, however, is 50% higher than the rate for the same period last year.
The number of individuals self-harming over the 12 months ending 31 December 2021 was 267 compared to 295 for previous 12 months. The number of individual CYP self-harming in the latest 3 months was 75, compared to 87 individual CYP who self-harmed in the 3 months to 31 December 2020. The rate of individuals self-harming per 100 CYP was 48 for the 12 months to December 2021 and 42 for the previous 12 months.
Figure 6: Rate of self-harm incidents per 100 CYP per year - October to December 2020 and October to December 2021
Rates of self-harm have increased across all three sectors of the CYPSE. The rate of self-harm at SCHs for the 3 months to 31 December 2021 was 611 incidents per 100 CYP, this is an increase of 397% in comparison to the same period last year. STCs had a rate of self-harm of 768 per 100 CYP, an increase of 28% in comparison to the same period last year. YOIs rate of self-harm was 96 per 100 CYP, a 68% increase in comparison to the same period last year. The change in these rates was heavily influenced by periods of restrictions placed on sites during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The rate of self-harm incidents can also be influenced by a few individuals self-harming multiple times, so it is important to consider the number of different individuals self-harming as well as the overall count of incidents. The highest rate of unique CYP self-harming over the 3 months to 31 December 2021 was in STCs (22 different self-harmers from an average population of 33[footnote 2]), followed by SCHs (20 different self-harmers from an average population of 78) and then YOIs (34 different self-harmers from an average population of 400[footnote 3]).
Over the 12 months to 31 December 2021, a total of 426 self-harm incidents resulted in an injury requiring some treatment, 30% of the total, and 52 required hospital attendance, representing 4% of the total.
The number of girls in the CYPSE is low (an average of 17 out of a total population of 552 over the 12 months to 31 December 2021). The rate of self-harm among girls was 2,395 incidents per 100 per year, compared to 190 per 100 boys per year. Each of the girls who self-harmed also did so on average 15 times per year.
Within protected characteristic groupings, self-harming was most common among 15-year-olds (838 incidents per 100), White children (329 per 100), and those identified as ‘Other Religion’ (395 per 100) followed by Muslim (298 per 100) in comparison to others in the group.
Figure 7: Rate of self-harm incidents by protected characteristic – January to December 2021
4. Deaths: April 2014 to December 2021
No deaths were reported in the Youth Children and Young People Secure Estate in the 12 months to 31 December 2021.
Deaths of children and young people are fortunately rare and there were no deaths in the 12 months to 31 December 2021. Since April 2014 there have been three deaths of children and young people within the CYPSE.
- Two at Cookham Wood YOI, in July 2015 and June 2019
- One at Hillside SCH, in February 2017
- All of these deaths were due to natural causes
Further Information
Accompanying files
As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release:
- A guide providing further information on how the data are collected and processed, as well as an assessment of data quality. The revisions policy, other statistical issues and a glossary of terms used are also covered in the guide.
- A set of summary tables covering both the latest quarter and annual summaries of the data back to 2014/15.
Contact points
Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office:
Tel: 020 3334 3536
Email: newsdesk@justice.gov.uk
Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to:
Katherine Tatlock
Youth Custody Service
HM Prison and Probation Service
1 Ruskin Square
Ruskin Road
Croydon
CR0 2WF
Email: statistics.enquiries@justice.gov.uk
Next update: 28 July 2022
URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/youth-justice-statistics#youth-secure-estate-statistics
Alternative formats are available on request from statistics.enquiries@justice.gov.uk
© Crown copyright. Produced by the Ministry of Justice.