Official Statistics

Safety in the Children and Young People Secure Estate: Update to December 2023

Published 25 April 2024

Applies to England and Wales

Main Points

488 assault incidents Oct to Dec 2023, of which 39 were serious 381 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 339.6 in the 3 months October to December 2023, a decrease of 10% compared to the same period last year. The number of unique children and young people involved in incidents as assailants or fighters increased by 10% in the 3 months October to December 2023 compared to the same period last year, from 345 to 381.

224 assault incidents on staff Oct to Dec 2023, of which 22 were serious

The annualised rate of assault incidents on staff per 100 children and young people per year was 155.9 in the 3 months October to December 2023, a decrease of 18% compared to the same period last year.

497 self-harm incidents Oct to Dec 2023 87 different children and young people self-harmed Oct to Dec 2023

The annualised rate of self-harm incidents per 100 children and young people per year was 345.8 in the 3 months October to December 2023, a decrease of 41% compared to the same period last year. The number of unique children and young people self-harming increased by 32% in the 3 months October to December 2023 compared to the same period last year, from 66 to 87.

No deaths reported in the year to Dec 2023

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 (CYPSE) Bulletin publishes statistics across all CYPSE sectors from April 2014 to December 2023.

Assault and self-harm incidents and deaths are refreshed quarterly, with use of force incidents and separations in all sectors being refreshed annually in July.

Where the presented statistics cover the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, it must be considered and accounted for when comparing time periods.

1. Statistician’s Comment

These statistics present data up until December 2023 across each sector of the CYPSE. Throughout these statistics, the latest reporting quarter is annualised and compared to the same annualised period from the previous year.

The CYPSE is built up of distinct sectors; Young Offender Institutions (YOIs), a Secure Training Centre (STC) and Secure Children’s Homes (SCHs). Each sector is operated under different models which are governed by different rules. Caution should be taken when comparing sectors to each other. More information can be found in the accompanying guide to the bulletin.

Given the CYPSE’s small population size, individual children and young people (CYP) can substantially impact statistics. This is particularly apparent within Secure Children’s Homes where site populations are typically the lowest within the CYPSE. Girls are placed in SCHs and have been placed at Wetherby YOI since July 2021 and Oakhill STC since November 2022, and the impact of these placements can often be seen clearly within these statistics.

The statistics show that there has been an overall decrease in the CYPSE in the rate of assault incidents per 100 CYP per year and a decrease in the rate of self-harm per 100 CYP per year when comparing the 3 months October to December 2023 to the same period from the previous year.

The overall rate of assaults on staff per 100 CYP per year has seen decreases in the 3 months October to December 2023 when compared to the same period from last year.

The rate of serious assaults per 100 CYP per year has seen a 30% decrease in the 3 months October to December 2023 in comparison to the same period from the previous year, from 38.5 incidents per 100 CYP per year down to 27.1 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

The rate of self-harm incidents is strongly influenced by small numbers of individuals self-harming multiple times, especially amongst girls where the annual rate of self-harm is at a level of 9,570.4 incidents per 100 CYP per year in the 12 months to December 2023.

No deaths of children and young people have been reported since June 2019. This includes any deaths related to COVID-19.

Statistics for separations and use of force within the CYPSE are updated annually with the next update covering the period April 2023 to March 2024 due to be published in July 2024.

Following the opening of a Secure School in 2024, which will be a new CYPSE sector type, additional statistics will be included in this publication from January 2025, covering the period to September 2024, subject to data quality standards being met.

2. Assaults: April 2014 to December 2023

Assault incident rate decreased compared to same period last year

In the 3 months October to December 2023, there were 488 assault incidents in the CYPSE involving 381 different CYP as assailants or fighters. The annualised rate of assault incidents was 339.6 per 100 CYP per year, a decrease of 10% compared to the same period in 2022 when the rate was 376.5 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

Assault incidents on staff rate decreased compared to same period last year

In the 3 months October to December 2023, there were 224 incidents in the CYPSE where staff were assaulted. The annualised rate of assault incidents on staff was 155.9 per 100 CYP per year, a decrease of 18% compared to the same period in 2022 when the rate was 190.3 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

Figure 1: Rate of assaults and fights by quarter from April 2014 to March 2018 and assault incidents from April 2019 to December 2023

The definition and counting rules of assaults changed from April 2019 (April 2018 for YOIs) and hence no long-term trends are available and there was no estate-wide figure in 2018/19. Figure 1 illustrates the trends before and after the break.

The rate of assault incidents fell substantially at the outset the COVID-19 pandemic. In the last full quarter prior to the pandemic, the 3 months October to December 2019, the assault rate per 100 CYP per year was 466.4.

For the most recent quarter, the 3 months October to December 2023, the rate of assault was 339.6 incidents per 100 CYP per year which is a decrease of 10% in comparison to the same period last year, the 3 months October to December 2022 where the rate was 376.5 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

In the latest 3 months October to December 2023 there were 224 assault incidents on staff at a rate of 155.9 incidents per 100 CYP per year, an 18% decrease compared to the same period last year where the rate was 190.3 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

The rate of serious assaults in the 3 months October to December 2023 was 27.1 incidents per 100 CYP per year, which is a decrease of 30% in comparison to the same period last year where the rate was 38.5 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

During the 3 months October to December 2023 there were 381 unique assailants / fighters compared to 345 over the same period in 2022.

During the 3 months October to December 2023 there were 126 unique CYP victims compared to 117 over the same period in 2022.

Figure 2: Rate of assault incidents per 100 CYP per year from October 2022 to December 2022 and from October 2023 to December 2023

In the 3 months October to December 2023, the comparative rate of assaults across the sectors were 321.5 incidents per 100 CYP per year in YOIs, a decrease of 11%; 571.2 incidents per 100 CYP per year in the STC; and 273.9 incidents per 100 CYP per year in SCHs, a decrease of 24% when compared to the same period last year.

The rate of assaults on staff in the 3 months October to December 2023 was highest within the STC at 418.0 incidents per 100 CYP per year, a 13% increase compared to the same period last year. For SCHs the rate was 129.7 incidents per 100 CYP per year, a 47% decrease compared to the same period last year. In YOIs the rate for the 3 months October to December 2023 was 126.2 incidents per 100 CYP per year, a decrease of 23% compared to the same period the previous year.

In terms of protected characteristics, the rates of involvement as an assailant or fighter over the 12 months to December 2023 were higher than other groups for girls at 1,660.7 incidents per 100 CYP per year, for 15 year-olds at 859.1 incidents per 100 CYP and for CYP from a black background at 753.7 incidents per 100 CYP per year (where ethnicity has been stated).

The groups with the highest rate of involvement as a victim were 10 to 14 year-olds, at 194.7 incidents per 100 CYP per year, and for non-Christian and non-Muslim religions at 119.8 incidents per 100 CYP per year (where religion has been stated).

Due to extremely small numbers causing data suppression issues, the individual breakdown of assault incidents where a CYP has assaulted someone other than another CYP or a staff member (Category: CYP on Other) will be removed from this publication from October 2024, covering the period to June 2024. These incidents will still be counted in the overall number of assault incidents.

3. Self-Harm: April 2014 to December 2023

Self-harm incidents rate decreased compared to same period last year

In the 3 months October to December 2023 there were 497 incidents of self-harm involving 87 different CYP. The annualised rate was 345.8 incidents per 100 CYP per year, a decrease of 41% compared to the same period last year.

Figure 3: Rate of self-harm incidents per 100 CYP per year from April 2014 to December 2023

The self-harm rate for the 3 months October to December 2023 was 345.8 incidents per 100 CYP per year, a decrease of 41% compared to the same period last year where the rate was 589.7 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

The number of unique children and young people self-harming in the 3 months October to December 2023 was 87, compared to 66 unique children and young people who self-harmed in the 3 months October to December 2022.

Figure 4: Rate of self-harm incidents per 100 CYP per year from October 2022 to December 2022 and from October 2023 to December 2023

In the 3 months October to December 2023, the comparative rates of self-harm across the sectors were 326.1 incidents per 100 CYP per year in YOIs, a decrease of 37%; 599.1 incidents per 100 CYP per year in the STC, an increase of 143%; and 273.9 incidents per 100 CYP per year in SCHs, a decrease of 76% when compared to the same period last year.

The rate of self-harm incidents is influenced by small numbers of 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 October to December 2023 was in SCHs (17 different self-harmers from an average population of 82.6), followed by the STC (9 different self-harmers from an average population of 57.0) and then YOIs (77 different self-harmers from an average population of 430.9).

The number of self-harm incidents that resulted in an injury requiring treatment in the 3 months October to December 2023 was 133, representing 27% of self-harm incidents. The number of self-harm incidents that required hospital attendance in the 3 months October to December 2023 was 29, representing 6% of incidents.

The number of girls in the CYPSE is low, representing 2% of the overall average population (an average of 10.4 out of a total average population of 568.4 over the 12 months to December 2023). Girls accounted for 63% of all self-harm incidents over the 12 months to December 2023, with the rate of self-harm among girls at 9,570.4 incidents per 100 girls per year, compared to 143.4 per 100 boys per year. Each of the girls who self-harmed did so on average 66.5 times per year, with the boys self-harming on average 3.7 times per year.

Within protected characteristic groupings, self-harming was most common over the 12 months to December 2023 among 15-year-olds (648.2 incidents per 100 CYP per year) and white children and young people (560.1 incidents per 100 CYP per year) in comparison to others in the group.

4. Deaths: April 2014 to December 2023

No deaths were reported in the CYPSE in the 12 months ending December 2023.

Deaths of children and young people are fortunately rare and there were no deaths in the 12 months ending September 2023. 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 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

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: YCSInformationAndPerformance@justice.gov.uk

Next update: 25th July 2024 (assaults, self-harm, separations, use of force, deaths)

URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/youth-justice-statistics#youth-secure-estate-statistics-

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Produced by the Ministry of Justice.

Alternative formats are available on request from YCSInformationAndPerformance@justice.gov.uk