§ Mr. Gregory CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many minors in Northern Ireland have been questioned and cautioned in each of the last five years. [171005]
§ Mr. PearsonThe information is as follows.
Financial year Number of official cautions 1999–2000 1,325 2000–01 1,314 2001–02 1,095 2002–03 1,045 The PSNI introduced a new Youth Diversion Scheme from 1 September 2003 which provides a new framework to respond to all children and young persons under the age of 17. The scheme uses restorative interventions and the title and structure of the previous "official caution" is now called a "restorative caution".
No statistics are available for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 August 2003.
Since 1 September 2003 there have been 485 restorative cautions issued under the new scheme.