Official Statistics

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

Published 25 January 2024

Applies to England and Wales

Main Points

579 assault incidents Jul to Sep 2023, of which 40 were serious 369 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 383.6 in the 3 months July to September 2023, a decrease of 7% compared to the same period last year. The number of unique children and young people involved in incidents as assailants or fighters increased by 5% in the 3 months July to September 2023 compared to the same period last year, from 351 to 369.

320 assault incidents on staff Jul to Sep 2023, of which 24 were serious

The annualised rate of assault incidents on staff per 100 children and young people per year was 212.0 in the 3 months July to September 2023, an increase of 21% compared to the same period last year.

575 self-harm incidents Jul to Sep 2023 94 different children and young people self-harmed Jul to Sep 2023

The annualised rate of self-harm incidents per 100 children and young people per year was 381.0 in the 3 months July to September 2023, a decrease of 5% compared to the same period last year. The number of unique children and young people self-harming increased by 19% in the 3 months July to September 2023 compared to the same period last year, from 79 to 94.

No deaths reported in the year to Sep 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 September 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 September 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 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 slight decrease in the rate of self-harm per 100 CYP per year when comparing the 3 months July to September 2023 to the same period from the previous year.

The rate of assaults on staff per 100 CYP per year has seen increases in the 3 months July to September 2023 when compared to the same period from last year in SCHs. In the STC the rate of assaults on staff decreased and in YOIs the rate saw little change when compared to the same period last year.

The rate of serious assaults per 100 CYP per year has seen a 44% decrease in the 3 months July to September 2023 in comparison to the same period from the previous year, from 47.2 incidents per 100 CYP per year down to 26.5 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

The rate of self-harm incidents is strongly influenced by very small numbers of individuals self-harming multiple times, especially amongst girls where the annual rate of self-harm is at its highest recorded level of 10,466.0 incidents per 100 CYP per year in the 12 months to September 2023.

No deaths of children and young people have been reported since September 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.

2. Assaults: April 2014 to September 2023

Assault incident rate decreased compared to same period last year

In the 3 months July to September 2023, there were 579 assault incidents in the CYPSE involving 369 different CYP as assailants or fighters. The annualised rate of assault incidents was 383.6 per 100 CYP per year, a decrease of 7% compared to the same period in 2022 when the rate was 412.9 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

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

In the 3 months July to September 2023, there were 320 incidents in the CYPSE where staff were assaulted. The annualised rate of assault incidents on staff was 212.0 per 100 CYP per year, an increase of 21% compared to the same period in 2022 when the rate was 175.3 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 September 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 July to September 2023, the rate of assault was 383.6 incidents per 100 CYP per year which is a decrease of 7% in comparison to the same period last year, the 3 months July to September 2022.

In the latest 3 months July to September 2023 there were 320 assault incidents on staff at a rate of 212.0 incidents per 100 CYP per year, a 21% increase compared to the same period last year where the rate was 175.3 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

The rate of serious assaults in the 3 months July to September 2023 was 26.5 incidents per 100 CYP per year, which is a decrease of 44% in comparison to the same period last year where the rate was 47.2 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

During the 3 months July to September 2023 there were 369 unique assailants / fighters compared to 351 over the same period in 2022.

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

In the 3 months July to September 2023, the comparative rate of assaults across the sectors were 292.7 incidents per 100 CYP per year in YOIs, a decrease of 22%; 884.4 incidents per 100 CYP per year in the STC, a decrease of 9%; and 534.5 incidents per 100 CYP per year in SCHs, an increase of 59% when compared to the same period last year.

The rate of assaults on staff in the 3 months July to September 2023 was highest within the STC at 501.6 incidents per 100 CYP per year, a 20% decrease compared to the same period last year. For SCHs the rate was 386.9 incidents per 100 CYP per year, a 224% increase compared to the same period last year. In YOIs the rate for the 3 months July to September 2023 was 144.7 incidents per 100 CYP per year, showing little change from 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 September 2023 were higher than other groups for girls at 1,375.8 incidents per 100 CYP per year, for 15 year-olds at 880.6 incidents per 100 CYP and for CYP from a black background at 745.5 incidents per 100 CYP (where ethnicity has been stated).

The groups with the highest rate of involvement as a victim were boys at 109.4 incidents per 100 CYP per year, 10 to 14 year-olds, at 174.3 incidents per 100 CYP per year, and for Muslims at 117.1 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

3. Self-Harm: April 2014 to September 2023

Self-harm incidents decreased compared to same period last year

In the 3 months July to September 2023 there were 575 incidents of self-harm involving 94 different CYP. The annualised rate was 381.0 incidents per 100 CYP per year, a decrease of 5% compared to the same period last year.

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

The self-harm rate for the 3 months July to September 2023 was 381.0 incidents per 100 CYP per year, a decrease of 5% compared to the same period last year where the rate was 400.9 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

The number of unique children and young people self-harming in the 3 months July to September 2023 was 94, compared to 79 unique children and young people who self-harmed in the 3 months July to September 2022.

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

In the 3 months July to September 2023, the comparative rates of self-harm across the sectors were 350.4 incidents per 100 CYP per year in YOIs, a decrease of 8%; 792.0 incidents per 100 CYP per year in the STC, an increase of 24%; and 244.3 incidents per 100 CYP per year in SCHs, a decrease of 38% 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 July to September 2023 was in the STC (14 different self-harmers from an average population of 60.2), followed by SCHs (14 different self-harmers from an average population of 78.0) and then YOIs (68 different self-harmers from an average population of 461.1).

The number of self-harm incidents that resulted in an injury requiring treatment in the 3 months July to September 2023 was 148, representing 26% of self-harm incidents. The number of self-harm incidents that required hospital attendance in the 3 months July to September 2023 was 23, representing 4% of incidents.

The number of girls in the CYPSE is low, representing 2% of the overall average population (an average of 12.2 out of a total average population of 547.1 over the 12 months to September 2023). Girls accounted for 63% of all self-harm incidents over the 12 months to September 2023, with the rate of self-harm among girls at 10,466.0 incidents per 100 CYP per year, compared to 141.1 per 100 CYP per year for boys. Each of the girls who self-harmed did so on average 75.2 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 September 2023 among 16-year-olds (775.0 incidents per 100 CYP per year) and white children and young people (677.2 incidents per 100 CYP per year) in comparison to others in the group.

4. Deaths: April 2014 to September 2023

No deaths were reported in the CYPSE in the 12 months ending September 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 April 2024 (assaults, self-harm, deaths)

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