Youth Justice Service

Gloucestershire’s Youth Justice Strategy 2025-2028 embraces the county’s ambition to ensure that Gloucestershire is a great place for all children and young people to live lives of choice and opportunity (One Plan for Children & Young People in Gloucestershire 2024-2030). We know that children entering the youth justice system experience disadvantage at levels that are disproportionate to the general 10-17 population. Within Gloucestershire we have continued to see the overrepresentation of black and mixed heritage children within the YJS, as well as high levels of children experiencing education disruption, SEND, involvement with social care, and poverty. It is also recognised that the youth justice landscape has changed considerably over the last decade, with increased levels of serious youth violence and exploitation. This is reflected in YJS performance during 2024/25. Whilst Gloucestershire YJS is generally performing comparatively well on a regional and national level, we have seen the number of children sentenced to custody fluctuate following offences involving serious youth violence and we continue to see a small cohort of children, with complex needs, re-offend.