Beyond the Headlines
Trends in violence affecting children in England and Wales over the last 10 years.
Published -
July 25, 2024 Sections
Purpose and background
In this report, we aim to simplify the complexity surrounding violence affecting children and young people in England and Wales. Our goal is to provide a clear account of whether the situation is improving or worsening, and to evaluate the performance of key sectors supporting these children and young people. To achieve this, we’ve selected 11 core indicators (see dashboard below) to track over time. These include:
- three primary measures of violence,
- a measure of racial disproportionality in the youth justice system,
- six measures related to our sectors of interest, and a measure of child poverty.
- Additionally, we’ve examined a range of other data to provide context and delve into the details behind the main figures.
Core indicators dashboard
Click on each indicator for more detail behind the headline figures.
Children affected by violence
-
Homicides
16–24-year-old homicide victims (England and Wales)
- Latest value
- 99
- Latest Year
- March 2023
Indicator performancemixedchange compared toprevious year (2021/22)-19%pre-covid (2019/20)-30%10 years before (2012/23)14% -
Knife crime
Hospital admissions for knife assault (0-17-year-olds)
- Latest value
- 467
- Latest Year
- March 2023
Indicator performancemixedchange compared toprevious year (2021/22)-2%pre-covid (2019/20)-16%10 years before (2012/23)47% -
Justice system involvement
Proven violent offences committed by children
- Latest value
- 14,298
- Latest Year
- March 2023
Indicator performanceimprovingchange compared toprevious year (2021/22)-2%pre-covid (2019/20)-31%10 years before (2012/23)-46% -
Disproportionality
Proportion of children in custody who are Black
- Latest value
- 26%
- Latest Year
- March 2023
Indicator performancemixedchange compared toprevious year (2021/22)-2%pre-covid (2019/20)-2.2%10 years before (2012/13)4%
Sectors & Society
-
Policing
Recorded crimes that were successfully investigated crimes
- Latest value
- 9%
- Latest Year
- March 2023
Indicator performanceworseningchange compared toprevious year (2021/22)-0.1%pre-covid (2019/20)-1.6%10 years before (2012/23)-16.1% -
Indicator performancemixedchange compared toprevious year (2020/21)0.9%pre-covid (2019/20)-2.0%10 years before (2012/23)-8.9%
-
Indicator performancenachange compared toprevious year (2021/22)N/Apre-covid (2019/20)N/A10 years before (2012/23)N/A
-
Indicator performancemixedchange compared toprevious year (2021/22)-1.3%pre-covid (2019/20)10%10 years before (2012/23)7.6%
-
Indicator performanceworseningchange compared toprevious year (2021/22)11%pre-covid (2019/20)44%10 years before (2016/17*)98%
-
Indicator performanceworseningchange compared toprevious year (2021/22)2%pre-covid (2019/20)5%10 years before (2012/23)23%
-
Youth sector
Local authority expenditure for youth services
- Latest value
- £448m
- Latest Year
- March 2023
Indicator performancemixedchange compared toprevious year (2021/22)3%pre-covid (2019/20)8%10 years before (2012/23)-56% -
Indicator performancemixedchange compared toprevious year (2021/22)2.2%pre-covid (2019/20)0.2%10 years before (2012/23)-3.8%