Sentencing Children
Key Facts and Statistics
Raphael Freund & Annalena Wolcke
Last updated: Nov 2025
Fact 1
Individuals who are between 10-17 years old at the time of sentencing are considered children.
IN 2024,
12,959
CHILDREN WERE SENTENCED IN ENGLAND & WALES1
Fact 2
In 2024, sentences for children accounted for
1%
of all sentences where age was recorded.
Fact 3
Most children who are
sentenced are between
15 and 17 years old.
| Age Range | Proportion |
|---|---|
| 10 to 11 | 0.1% |
| 12 to 14 | 12.8% |
| 15 to 17 | 87.1% |
Fact 4
Most sentenced children receive a Referral Order.*
The second-most common outcome is a Youth Rehabilitation Order.
*Note: Referral Orders and Youth Rehabilitation Orders are a special type of Community Order that can only be imposed on children.2
Fact 5
Distribution of Custodial Sentence Lengths for young adults and children
Note: Young Adults are adults aged 18-24.
Fact 6
Most common offences for children at sentencing
| Individuals sentenced in 2024 | |
|---|---|
| 1. Robbery | 1,129 |
| 2. Knife possession (having an article with a blade or point in public) | 1,119 |
| 3. Vehicle insurance offences – summary | 967 |
| 4. Common assault and battery | 902 |
| 5. Theft from a shop | 855 |
Fact 7
Reoffending Rates by Age Group3
Note: The MoJ defines reoffending as any offence committed in a one-year follow-up period that leads to a court conviction, caution, reprimand, or warning.
Fact 8
Among those sentenced to custody, children are about twice as likely to re-offend.
| Age Group | Proportion |
|---|---|
| Children | 74% |
| Adults | 37% |
Fact 9
The average number of reoffences per individual is highest for young children.
| Age Group | Average Reoffences |
|---|---|
| 10 to 14 | 5.09 |
| 15 to 17 | 4.13 |
| All convicted children | 4.34 |
| All convicted individuals | 4.02 |
Fact 10
and
who were sentenced in 2024 were children.
This infographic is one of a series on sentencing trends in England & Wales. Others can be found here. For further information, contact Annalena Wolcke at a.wolcke@sentencingacademy.org.uk
- Data source for fact 1: Age of Criminal Responsibility, no date. https://www.gov.uk/age-of-criminalresponsibility;
Facts 1-6, 10: Data calculated from Ministry of Justice (2025), Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly: December 2024, published 15th of May. Outcomes by offence data tool, Table 2. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2024. ↩︎ - ‘Other’ sentence outcomes in Fact 4 include: absolute discharge, reparation order, compensation, and ‘otherwise dealt with’. ↩︎
- Facts 7-9: Data calculated from: Ministry of Justice (2025). Proven Reoffending Statistics: Proven reoffending tables (annual average), April 2022 to March 2023, published 30th of January, various tables.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/proven-reoffending-statistics-january-to-march-2023. ↩︎