Core indicator
Youth justice
Children's reoffending rate
Last updated March 2023
(March 2023)
Latest figures for reoffending rates are for the financial year ending March 2023 (2022/23). Last reviewed: April 2025
What is this sector and how are we measuring it?
The aim of the youth justice system in England and Wales is to prevent children from offending and reoffending. What happens to children after the point of arrest – including whether they’re diverted away from formal court processes and what forms of support they’re given – can significantly affect whether children go on to reoffend. We’ve used children’s reoffending rates as our core measure to track the youth justice sector. An offence is considered reoffending if it leads to a caution or conviction within 18 months of a previous offence (at the point either a caution or conviction was served or a period of incarceration ended). Measures of reoffending are affected by the functioning and priorities of the police and justice system.
Learn more about YEF’s work within the youth justice sector, and the evidence-based approaches for what works in reducing reoffending and crime.
What does our core indicator show?
Overall, this measure shows a mixed picture. Children’s reoffending rates had been falling since 2013/14 until last year, when they increased by one percentage point (1%pt). In the latest year (2022/23), they rose again, to 32.5%. This is up 0.3%pts on the previous year (2021/22) but remains 1.7%pts down from before Covid (2019/20) and 8.5%pts down from ten years ago (2012/13).