§ Mr. ForthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what(a) proportion and (b) number of young offenders were (i) white, (ii) black, (iii) Asian and (iv) other in each of the last five years; [68095]
(2) what estimate he has made of the proportion of persistent young offenders who are (a) white, (b) black, (c) Asian and (d) other in the last year for which figures are available. [68093]
§ Mr. StrawBecause ethnicity is not currently recorded at the point of conviction, there are no national data on the ethnicity of young offenders, or, it follows, of persistent young offenders.
Statistics on the ethnicity of the sentenced prison population are shown in the table. Additional research carried out in 1993 shows by ethnic origin the proportion of young persons aged 17–25 who reported they had committed offences. (Young People and Crime, Home Office Research Study No.145, 1995).
The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, which was established on 30 September 1998 under section 41 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, has the function of monitoring the operation of the youth justice system. The Board is currently considering its data collection requirements in carrying out this function. These are likely to include information about the characteristics of young offenders and the effectiveness of intervention work with them in preventing reoffending. This information will be collected from youth offending teams, established under section 39 of the 1998 Act, which the Government expect to implement nationally in April 2000.
Prison population Sentenced young offenders by ethnic group Total White Black South Asian Chinese and other Not recorded Numbers at 30 June 1993 4,980 4,380 384 143 25 48 1994 5,202 4,527 459 141 68 7 1995 5,587 4,727 595 170 85 10 1996 6,600 5,274 954 228 111 33 1997 7,934 6,397 1,088 271 156 22 19981 8,502 6,773 1,257 276 189 7 Percentages 1993 100 88 8 3 1 1 1994 100 87 9 3 1 0 1995 100 85 11 3 2 0 1996 100 80 14 3 2 1 1997 100 81 14 3 2 0 19981 100 80 15 3 2 0 11998 data at end September 1998
§ Mr. ForthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the elements of the Government's strategy for preventing youth crime which have been specifically targeted at ethnic minorities. [68092]
§ Mr. StrawThe Government set out their strategy for preventing youth crime in the White Paper "No More Excuses—a New Approach To Tackling Youth Crime in England and Wales". The clear aim of that strategy is to prevent offending and re-offending by juveniles. This is 551W now the statutory principal aim of the youth justice system, as set out in section 37 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 provides a range of new measures designed to be effective in preventing youth crime, irrespective of the ethnic background of those who seek to break the law. The Government are currently piloting new measures in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, including the final warning scheme, new community-based court disposals, and youth offending teams, with national implementation planned for around April 2000. To date, the Government have also introduced a range of measures to speed up the youth justice system, and have established the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales which will provide advice on the operation and performance of the youth justice system.