Key Points

This report provides an overview of the workload provided by the Youth Justice Services (YJS) and Custodial Services (Woodlands Juvenile Justice Centre, (JJC)) directorates within Youth Justice Agency (YJA) during 2025/26 and how it has changed over time. The principal findings are summarised below:

  • During 2025/26, there was a total of 971 YJA PSNI Referral Schemes for 928 children.

  • In 2025/26 males accounted for 74.0% of PSNI referral schemes.

  • In 2025/26 the highest number of CRN schemes was for children aged 17 and over (162) while those aged 12 accounted for the highest number of Sexting Schemes (40).

  • The number of YJA referrals to the YJS in 2025/26 was 1,325, a decrease of 5.5% from 2024/25 (1,402).

  • Diversionary referrals (52.6%; 697) accounted for the largest proportion of all YJA referrals in 2025/26, followed by Court Ordered (24.3%; 322) and Earlier Stage Diversions (12.7%; 168).

  • The number of individuals receiving YJA referrals in 2025/26 (709) decreased by 7.7% from the previous year (768).

  • The total number of individuals in custody increased by 17.9% (95, 2024/25; 112, 2025/26).

  • As in previous years, males accounted for the majority of YJA referrals (69.9%) and of children receiving YJA referrals (75.3%) and in custody (76.8%).

  • During 2025/26, 67.4% of YJA referrals and 66.0% of individuals receiving YJA referrals were aged 15 and over; the corresponding figure for children in custody was 77.7%.

  • In 2025/26, 38.4% of children in custody were Catholic; 27.7% were Protestant.

  • Of the children in custody during 2025/26, 32.1% were in care.

  • In terms of local government district, Belfast had the highest number of YJA referrals (319) and the highest number of children receiving YJA referrals (187). Ards and North Down had the highest number of admissions to custody (39) and Belfast also had the highest number of children in custody (23). Regarding children in custody, Ards and North Down and Derry City and Strabane had the highest rate per 1,000 at 0.8 each.

  • In 2025/26, there was a total of 2,903 days of custody provided by the JJC, 3.5% higher than in 2024/25 (2,804) and 7.0% lower than in 2021/22 (3,120). Of these days 7.1% were for PACE, 70.7% for remand and 22.1% for sentence.

  • The total number of admissions to the JJC was 20.0% higher in 2025/26 (216) than in 2024/25 (180). Overall movements within the JJC, that is new admissions plus internal changes of status, such as PACE to Remand, was 11.3% higher in 2025/26 (295) than in the previous year (265).

  • Of the 1,039 statutory referrals during 2025/26, the highest proportion involved violence against the person (41.6%; 432).

Associated Tables

Detailed tables can be downloaded from the Youth Justice Statistics page in excel or ods format.

Youth Justice Services

About this chapter

This chapter provides an overview of YJA PSNI referral schemes by gender and age and the numbers of YJA referrals and individual children involved by gender, age, area of residence and offence category. A full breakdown of all the data is detailed in Data Tables. Information relating to religion is collected via a Section 75 Equality monitoring form. A response to the monitoring form is not compulsory and as a result the YJS figures are low; a breakdown by religion has therefore not been included.

YJA PSNI Referral Schemes

A Community Resolution Notice (CRN) can be issued to someone 10 years or over for a range of minor offences. The YJA receives CRN referrals from the Police and delivers educational sessions on topics such as drugs, alcohol, public order or criminal damage with new topic categories being added as appropriate. Vaping awareness raising sessions, which were originally classified separately, have now been incorporated under the CRN referral schemes. In addition, YJA delivers awareness raising sessions in relation to social media (sexting). CRN referrals and sexting schemes are collectively termed YJA PSNI Referral Schemes.

PSNI Referrals

During 2025/26, there was a total of 971 YJA PSNI Referral Schemes for 928 children. This represents a decrease in the total number of YJA PSNI Referral Schemes of 9.9% on 2024/25 (1,078). The 971 YJA PSNI Referral Schemes in 2025/26 comprised 770 CRN referrals and 201 Sexting Schemes (Figure 1; Table 1).

Figure 1: YJA PSNI Referral Schemes, 2025/26

CRN Referral Schemes

CRN referral schemes are delivered over a range of topics. In 2025/26 the most common CRN referral schemes were Offence Awareness (236, 30.6%), Drug and Alcohol Awareness (185, 24.0%) and Violence Awareness (92, 11.9%) (Figure 2; Table 2).

Figure 2: CRN referral schemes by topic, 2025/26

Gender

In 2025/26 males accounted for 74.0% of all YJA PSNI referral schemes while females accounted for 24.8% [Note 1]. The proportional distribution between males and females for Sexting Schemes (64.7% and 34.3% respectively) was more balanced than that for CRN Schemes (76.5% and 22.3%). (Figure 3; Table 3).

Figure 3: YJA PSNI referral schemes by gender, 2025/26
  1. Figures for each gender may not sum to 100.0% as providing gender is optional and for a small proportion is not available.

Age

In 2025/26 children aged 17 and over accounted for the highest number of CRN Schemes (162; 21.0%) followed by those aged 16 (128; 16.6%) and those aged 14 (125; 16.2%). In 2025/26, children aged 12 accounted for the highest number of Sexting Schemes (40; 19.9%) followed by those aged 14 (35; 17.4%) and those aged 15 (32; 15.9%). Those aged 10 accounted for the lowest numbers of CRN Schemes (6; 0.8%) and for the lowest numbers of Sexting Schemes (5; 2.5%) (Figures 4 and 5, Table 4).

Figure 4: Numbers of PSNI referral schemes by age, 2025/26
Figure 5: Percentage of PSNI referral schemes by age, 2025/26

YJA Referrals

This section provides information in relation to YJA referrals which include statutory (diversionary, court ordered and community order referrals), earlier stage diversion referrals, voluntary referrals and other referrals (PBNI, Bail Support and JJCOs).

Number of children referred and total referrals to YJS

During 2025/26, 709 individual children were referred to YJS, equating to 3.4 children in every 1,000 [Note 1] and a decrease of 7.7% on 2024/25 (768). Total referrals to the YJS (1,325) decreased by 5.5% on the previous year (1,402) (Figure 6; Table 5).

Figure 6: Individual children referred and total referrals to YJS, 2021/22 to 2025/26
  1. Rate per 1,000 population aged 10 to 17. The number of children aged 10 to 17 in Northern Ireland on 30 June 2024 was 206,031. Population data source: 2024 Mid-Year Population Estimates for Northern Ireland (opens in a new window).

Types of referral

In 2025/26, the proportion of diversionary referrals was 52.6%, a decrease of 0.9 percentage points since 2024/25 (53.5%). The proportion of court ordered referrals has ranged between 24.1% and 27.0% in the reporting period with the figure for 2025/26 being 24.3%. In 2025/26 the proportion of Earlier Stage Diversions was 12.7%, a decrease on the previous year (13.3%). The remaining referrals were made up of voluntary referrals (8.9%), community orders [Note 1] (1.0%) and other referrals [Note 2] (0.5%) (Figure 7; Table 6).

Figure 7: YJS referrals by type, 2021/22 to 2025/26

  1. Community order referrals include attendance centre orders, community responsibility orders and reparation orders.
  2. Other referrals include Juvenile Justice Centre orders where YJS are involved in supervising the community element, reducing offending programmes, bail support cases and work with probation.

Insight:
Earlier stage diversion provides support to children on the cusp of or involved in the early stages of offending to help divert them from the formal criminal justice system.

Of the 137 children who completed Earlier Stage Diversion referrals in 2024/25, less than one in six (16.1%) received a statutory referral to YJA within a year of completion.

Gender

In 2025/26 males accounted for 75.3% of individual children referred and 69.9% of referrals to the YJS. In 2025/26 females accounted for 24.0% of children referred, a reduction of 1.7 percentage points from 2024/25 (25.7%). Over the five year period the proportion of referrals attributable to females increased by 5.1 percentage points to 29.5% (2021/22, 24.4%). (Figures 8 and 9; Table 7 and Table 8).

Figure 8: Gender breakdown [Note 1] of individual children referred to YJS, 2021/22 to 2025/26
  1. Figures for each gender may not sum to 100.0% as providing gender is optional and for a small proportion is not available.
Figure 9: Gender breakdown [Note 1] of total referrals to YJS, 2021/22 to 2025/26
  1. Figures for each gender may not sum to 100.0% as providing gender is optional and for a small proportion is not available.

Age - Individuals

During the financial year, the proportion of individual children referred in the 15, 16 and 17 and over age brackets each rose from the previous reporting period (2024/25) to 20.0%, 19.6% and 26.4% respectively. In contrast, the proportion of individual children referred in the other age brackets decreased, with the proportion for those in the 14 year old age bracket reaching its lowest level in the reporting period at 14.2%. Overall, children aged 15 and over accounted for 66.0% of individual children referred during 2025/26 (Figure 10; Table 9).

Figure 10: Age breakdown of individual children referred to YJS 2021/22 to 2025/26

Age - Referrals

In 2025/26, referrals for children aged 15 years accounted for 25.6% of all referrals to YJS, an increase of 6.8 percentage points from 2024/25 (18.8%), representing the highest proportion among all age groups in the financial year.

The proportion of referrals also increased in the 16 year old age bracket to 20.5% (2024/25, 18.0%) while the proportions in the remaining age categories decreased with the biggest change being for those aged 10 to 13 years old (2025/26, 16.2%; 2024/25, 21.3%). During 2025/26, referrals for those aged 16 and over accounted for 41.8% of all referrals, a decrease from 2024/25 (42.9%) (Figure 11; Table 10).

Figure 11: Age breakdown of YJS referrals, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Individuals by area of residence

Figure 12 shows the number of individual children referred to YJS by local government district in 2025/26. Belfast had the highest rate of children referred at 5.4 per 1,000 population [Note 1] aged 10 to 17. This was followed by Mid and East Antrim (4.1) and Causeway Coast and Glens at 3.8. The lowest rates seen were in Lisburn and Castlereagh (2.4) and Mid Ulster (2.2). Table 11 provides a breakdown of figures for the last five financial years.

Figure 12: Individual children referred to YJS by area of residence [Note 2], 2025/26

figure 12 is a static map. See text immediately above or below for description of trends or download data using button below

  1. Rate per 1,000 population aged 10 to 17. Population data source: 2024 Mid-Year Population Estimates for Northern Ireland (opens in a new window).
  2. The information is based on each young person’s area of residence at the time of their first referral within the given year.

Referrals by area of residence

Table 1 shows the number of referrals by area for the last five years. Belfast had the largest number during 2025/26 (319, 24.1%). This was followed by Ards and North Down (195, 14.7%), Newry, Mourne and Down (138, 10.4%) and Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon (134, 10.1%). Mid Ulster had the lowest number of referrals (52, 3.9%) with the remaining districts ranging between 5.0% and 7.5% of referrals (Table 12).

Table 1: Referrals by area of residence, 2021/22 to 2025/26
Area 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Antrim and Newtownabbey 108 90 58 69 66
Ards and North Down 128 155 237 191 195
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon 152 147 148 130 134
Belfast 294 231 360 296 319
Causeway Coast and Glens 124 124 124 107 94
Derry City and Strabane 152 154 140 149 92
Fermanagh and Omagh 95 96 96 96 67
Lisburn and Castlereagh 55 89 91 70 68
Mid and East Antrim 147 104 76 66 100
Mid Ulster 73 52 44 68 52
Newry, Mourne and Down 106 118 151 158 138
Resident outside NI 1 1 0 0 0
Total 1,435 1,361 1,525 1,402 1,325

Offence type

Of the 1,039 statutory referrals [Note 1] during 2025/26, the highest proportion involved violence against the person (41.6%; 432), followed by criminal damage and arson (17.4%, 181), theft (13.2%; 137), public order (8.8%; 91), and fraud (6.5%; 68). The remaining categories each came in at under 4.0% with robbery being the lowest (0.1%; 1) (Figure 13, Table 13).

Figure 13: Statutory referrals by offence type, 2025/26
  1. Statutory referrals includes Diversionary, Court Ordered, Community Orders and Other (JJCO, Probation and Bail).

Custodial Services

About this chapter

This chapter provides an overview of the gender, age, religion, looked after status and area of residence profile of individual children in custody, admissions to and total movements within the JJC. A full breakdown of all the data is detailed in Data Tables.

Admissions and changes of status (for example when a young person transfers from PACE to remand) within the JJC are collectively referred to as movements. These events constitute the daily workload of the centre. Discharges are not included as all admissions will ultimately result in a discharge.

Individuals, Admissions and Movements

Individual Children Admitted, Total Admissions and Total Movements within JJC

The number of individual children admitted to the JJC increased by 17.9% to 112 in 2025/26 (95, 2024/25) and increased by 5.7% over the five year period (106, 2021/22). The latest figure equates to 0.5 in every 1,000 [Note 1] children aged 10-17 in Northern Ireland (Figure 14; Table 14).

Over the five year period, admissions to the JJC have ranged between 180 and 224. In 2025/26, the number of admissions to the JJC (216) increased by 20.0% on the previous year (180). There were 295 movements within JJC in 2025/26, an increase of 11.3% on 2024/25 (265).

Figure 14: Individual children admitted, total admissions and total movements within JJC, 2021/22 to 2025/26
  1. Rate per 1,000 population aged 10 to 17. The number of children aged 10 to 17 in Northern Ireland on 30 June 2024 was 206,031. Population data source: 2024 Mid-Year Population Estimates for Northern Ireland (opens in a new window)

Admissions and movements by status

In 2025/26 there were 216 admissions to the JJC (Figure 15) - 179 (82.9%) related to PACE, 33 (15.3%) to remand and 4 (1.9%) to sentence admissions. Over the five year period, the number of admissions attributed to PACE has averaged around 170 while the proportion has ranged between 78.6% and 84.1% in the 5 year period (2025/26, 82.9%). The proportion of admissions attributed to remand in 2025/26 (15.3%) represents a decrease of 5.0 percentage points since 2021/22 (20.3%) (Figure 15; Table 15).

Figure 15: Admissions by status, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Of the 295 movements within JJC in 2025/26, 179 (60.7%) related to PACE, 110 (37.3%) to remand and 6 (2.0%) were sentence movements.

The proportion of PACE movements has increased by 3.4 percentage points over the five year period (2021/22, 57.3%) while the proportions of both remand and sentence movements have reduced over the same period (2021/22, 40.3% and 2.4% respectively) (Figure 16; Table 16).

Figure 16: Movements by status, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Gender

Males consistently accounted for the vast majority of individual children in custody, admissions to and movements within the JJC over the last five years (Figure 17; Tables 17-19) although the proportions in each category have decreased from 2021/22. In terms of individuals, children in the JJC in 2025/26 were predominantly male (76.8%), an increase from 71.6% in 2024/25. The proportion of children in JJC who were female has increased from 16.0% in 2021/22 to 23.2% in 2025/26 although this is a decrease of 4.2 percentage points on 2024/25 (Table 17).

The proportions of admissions and total movements accounted for by males decreased in 2025/26 to 60.6% and 60.7% from the previous period (2024/25, 68.3% each), representing the lowest level for both in the reporting period (Tables 18 and 19).

Figure 17: Gender breakdown [Note 1] of individuals, admissions to and total movements within the JJC, 2021/22 to 2025/26
  1. Figures for each gender may not sum to total number of individuals, admissions and total movements as providing gender is optional and for a small proportion is not available.

Age

There were 7 (6.3%) children in custody aged 10 to 13, the same proportion as 2024/25 (Figure 18; Table 20). Children aged 14 accounted for 16.1% (18) of the 112 children in custody while the proportion of children in custody aged 15 increased from 14.7% in 2024/25 to 25.9% (29) in 2025/26.

In 2025/26, 58 (51.8%) of the children in custody were aged 16 and over, a decrease from 2024/25 (63, 66.3%). The proportion of 16 year old individuals in 2025/26 (19.6%) has decreased by 8.8 percentage points since 2024/25 (28.4%). In 2025/26 the proportion of individual children aged 17 and over decreased to 32.1% (2024/25, 37.9%), the smallest proportion in the reporting period, although this group continues to account for the highest proportion of individual children in custody.

Figure 18: Age breakdown of individual children in custody, 2021/22 to 2025/26

The proportion of admissions for those aged 10-13 has decreased from 8.3% in 2024/25 to 6.5% in 2025/26. The highest proportion of admissions in 2025/26 was for those aged 15 (30.1%), representing the highest proportion for this age group across the five year period. This was also the first year in the reporting period in which those aged 17 and over did not account for the largest proportion of admissions (2025/26, 28.2%) (Figure 19; Table 21).

Figure 19: Age breakdown of admissions to JJC, 2021/22 to 2025/26

The proportions of movements for those aged 10-13 decreased from 7.9% in 2024/25 to 6.4% in 2025/26. The proportion of movements for those aged 16 (15.3%) and those aged 17 and over (29.5%) also decreased in 2025/26 while it increased for those aged 14 (19.3%) and 15 (29.5%). The proportion of movements attributed to those aged 15 and over fell to 74.2%, its lowest level in the reporting period (Figure 20; Table 22).

Figure 20: Age breakdown of total movements within JJC, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Religion [Note 1]

In 2025/26, the proportion of children in custody who were Catholic increased to 38.4%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points from 2024/25 (37.9%). The proportion of children in custody who were Protestant decreased to 27.7% in 2025/26, a decrease of 3.9 percentage points from 2024/25 (31.6%). The proportion of children with no religious belief was 8.9%, 3.6% had other religious beliefs and the religious beliefs of the remaining 21.4% were unknown (Figure 21; Table 23).

Figure 21: Religion breakdown of individuals involved with JJC, 2021/22 to 2025/26
  1. Unlike other demographic information this is self-reported by the child and can therefore not be validated.

In 2025/26, the proportion of admissions attributed to Catholic children was 39.8%, an increase from 2024/25 (34.4%). Protestant children accounted for 33.3% of admissions, an increase from 2024/25 (31.1%). Those with other religious beliefs accounted for 2.3% of admissions and those with no religious beliefs accounted for 8.3% of admissions. The religious backgrounds of the remaining 16.2% of admissions were unknown (Figure 22; Table 24).

Figure 22: Total admissions by religion, 2021/22 to 2025/26
  1. Unlike other demographic information this is self-reported by the child and can therefore not be validated.

In 2025/26, the proportion of movements attributed to Catholic children was 40.7%, an increase from 2024/25 (34.0%). The proportion of movements for Protestant children in 2025/26 was 32.9%, an increase from 2024/25 (31.3%). The proportion of movements for children with no religious beliefs increased to 8.1%. Children with other religious beliefs and those whose religious beliefs were unknown accounted for 2.7% and 15.6% respectively of movements in 2025/26 (Figure 23; Table 25).

Figure 23: Movements by religion, 2021/22 to 2025/26
  1. Unlike other demographic information this is self-reported by the child and can therefore not be validated.

Looked after status [Note 1]

Figure 24 shows the proportion of children in custody by their looked after status over the past five years. In 2025/26, 32.1% were in care, representing the lowest rate in the five year period. The proportion of children in custody who were not in care (67.9%) increased on the previous year (51.6%) (Table 26).

Figure 24: Looked after status of children in custody, 2021/22 to 2025/26
  1. Looked after status is determined based on the child’s first admission within the relevant financial year.

The proportion of admissions to the JJC involving children subject to care orders or in voluntary accommodation has decreased by 5.7 percentage points since 2024/25 (56.7%) to 50.9% in 2025/26. Similarly, the proportion of movements within the JJC attributed to looked after children decreased from 53.6% in 2024/25 to 48.8% in 2025/26 (Figures 25 and 26; Tables 27 and 28).

Figure 25: Admissions to JJC by looked after status, 2021/22 to 2025/26
  1. Looked after status is determined based on the child’s first admission within the relevant financial year.
Figure 26: Total movements within JJC by looked after status, 2021/22 to 2025/26
  1. Looked after status is determined based on the child’s first admission within the relevant financial year.

Area of residence

Table 2 shows that Belfast consistently accounted for the largest number of children in custody over the five year period - 23 of 112 in 2025/26 (20.5%). This was followed by Newry, Mourne and Down (15, 13.4%), Ards and North Down and Derry City and Strabane (13, 11.6% each). In 2025/26, both Ards and North Down and Derry City and Strabane had the highest rate per 1,000 population (0.8) [Note 1] followed by Belfast, Mid and East Antrim and Newry, Mourne and Down (0.7) (Table 29).

The largest number of admissions to and movements within JJC in 2025/26 came from Ards and North Down (39 and 57 respectively) (Tables 30 and 31).

Table 2: Children in custody by area of residence and rate per 1,000 population [Note 1], 2021/22 to 2025/26
Table 2a: Individuals in custody by area of residence
Area 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Antrim and Newtownabbey 5 5 5 3 4
Ards and North Down 7 11 8 6 13
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon 18 13 13 9 11
Belfast 23 22 19 25 23
Causeway Coast and Glens 5 6 8 8 5
Derry City and Strabane 13 16 17 14 13
Fermanagh and Omagh 4 3 6 6 5
Lisburn and Castlereagh 5 4 5 9 7
Mid and East Antrim 4 2 3 2 10
Mid Ulster 7 7 6 0 2
Newry, Mourne and Down 10 13 9 8 15
Resident outside NI 4 8 0 5 1
Unassigned [Note 2] 1 0 0 0 0
Total 106 110 104 95 112
Table 2b: Rate of individuals in custody by area of residence per 1,000 population
Area 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Antrim and Newtownabbey 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3
Ards and North Down 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.8
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4
Belfast 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.7
Causeway Coast and Glens 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.3
Derry City and Strabane 0.8 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.8
Fermanagh and Omagh 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.4
Lisburn and Castlereagh 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.6 0.4
Mid and East Antrim 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.7
Mid Ulster 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.0 0.1
Newry, Mourne and Down 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.7
Total 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5
  1. Rate per 1,000 population aged 10 to 17. Population data source: 2024 Mid-Year Population Estimates for Northern Ireland (opens in a new window).
  2. Accurate address information was unavailable for these cases.

Average population

In 2025/26 the total average daily population in the JJC was 8.0 children, an increase from 2024/25 (7.7).

A large number of children are admitted to the JJC under PACE and so will remain in the centre for, at most, a few days. As a result these admissions have very little impact on the average population with the largest percentage consistently resulting from those children on remand, although the proportion for those childen on sentence has increased to 22.1% (2024/25, 13.4%) (Figure 27, Table 32).

Figure 27: Average population by status, 2021/22 to 2025/26

There has been a general reduction in the JJC population over the last 5 years. The highest level recorded in 2025/26 was 14, with annual maximum figures ranging between 14 and 21 over the five year period. The minimum monthly population during 2025/26 was 1. (Figure 28).

Figure 28: Maximum and minimum monthly population, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Number of custody days

As already mentioned children admitted to the JJC on PACE will typically reside in the centre for a short period of time, usually one or two days; those on remand or sentence will normally reside in the centre for longer periods of time.

When examining the transactional work of the JJC, movements related to PACE make up a high proportion of the workload (60.7% in 2025/26; see Figure 16). However, because these movements result in a short period of custody within the centre they account for a small proportion of the actual custody days. In contrast, sentence movements account for a much smaller proportion of the workload (2.0% in 2025/26) but contribute to a larger proportion of the custody days, as these movements bring with them a longer stay within the centre.

It should be noted that the minimum unit of measurement is one full day but many children are admitted for less than this duration. In these cases, this is counted as one custody day.

Figure 29 shows the number of custody days attributed to PACE, remand and sentence movements over the last five years. In 2025/26 there were 2,903 days of custody provided by the JJC, 207 for PACE, 2,053 for remand and 643 for sentence. The number of custody days overall has decreased by 7.0% in the five year period, although there has been an increase of 3.5% from 2024/25 (2,804). In the same period, the proportion of days related to PACE and sentence have increased while the proportion for remand has decreased (Table 33).

Figure 29: Custody days by status, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Custody conversion estimate for PACE admissions

To produce a custody conversion estimate we must first make the assumption that each admission to the JJC can only result in two outcomes: either the individual is released from the JJC without charge, or their status within custody will progress over time from PACE to remand to sentence. This implies that all children who receive a final disposal other than a custodial sentence should not enter custody.

Working on this assumption we can look at the number of PACE admissions compared to the number of PACE outcomes to create a conversion estimate, i.e. of all children admitted into the JJC on PACE how many are subsequently remanded by court or sentenced to custody? There are inherent problems with this approach; for example, some movements in the current year will relate to admissions which occurred in the previous year and admissions during the current year will have subsequent movements in the following year, so the estimate will only ever be an approximation of the “use” of the JJC.

Table 3 shows all PACE admissions in the period and all PACE to remand/sentence movements in the same period. These two figures can then be used to produce a PACE to remand/sentence conversion estimate. The PACE conversion rate decreased from 53.3% (80) in 2024/25 to 43.0% (77) in 2025/26, representing an increase in the percentage of children admitted to the JJC on PACE having been released without having been remanded by court or sentenced to custody.

Table 3: Custody conversion estimate, 2021/22 to 2025/26
Financial Year PACE Admissions PACE to Remand/Sentence Conversion Rate (%)
2021/22 165 74 44.8
2022/23 176 76 43.2
2023/24 180 85 47.2
2024/25 150 80 53.3
2025/26 179 77 43.0

Definitions

CUSTODY

Children may be held in the Juvenile Justice Centre either on:

• PACE - These children are held under the Police and Criminal Evidence Order 1989 until they can be questioned by police or until a court date becomes available.

• Remand – These children are remanded in custody either awaiting trial or sentence.

• Sentence – These children are held in custody as a result of a sentence of criminal court. Persons committed in default of a payment of a fine are normally included in this group. The majority of children sentenced to the Juvenile Justice Centre will be given a Juvenile Justice Centre Order (JJCO).

Bail Support

The Youth Justice Agency provides Bails Support services to children. This option is offered as an alternative to remand in custody, which means that the court can consider bail, even where there are ‘substantial grounds’ for refusal.

Fine Default

On occasion, a fine can be seen by the courts as an appropriate disposal for some offences. If the individual fails to pay the fine this can result in them being admitted to custody for a short period of time (usually three or four days). Whilst this is not a common disposal for children there have been a small number over recent years sentenced to the Juvenile Justice Centre for fine default.

Juvenile Justice Centre Order (JJCO)

This order was introduced on 31st January 1999 under the Criminal Justice (Children) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998, to replace the training school order. It is available for children and is for a period of six months unless the court specifies a longer period not exceeding two years. The period of detention is for one half of the period of the order, with the remainder comprising a period of close supervision in the community.

“YOC Order” (Sentence of Detention in the Young Offenders Centre)

This disposal was introduced on 12th December 1968 as part of the Treatment of Offenders Act (Northern Ireland) 1968. It is available for those over 16 but under 21 years of age, who were convicted of an offence that would normally attract a custodial sentence if the individual was over 21 years of age.

Since 1st November 2012 the Justice Minister has given an undertaking that no young person under 18 years of age will be held anywhere other than the Juvenile Justice Centre. As a result the sentence statistics in this bulletin include children sentenced to Juvenile Justice Centre Orders, YOC Orders and fine default.

NON-CUSTODIAL DISPOSALS SUPERVISED BY YOUTH JUSTICE SERVICES

Attendance Centre Order (ACO)

Requires an offender, aged under 18, to attend a designated attendance centre and undertake a structured programme of activities. The order should not be less than 12 hours and no more than 24 hours. The times at which the offender attends the centre should avoid interference, so far as practicable, with school hours or working hours.

Community Resolution Notices (CRNs)

A community resolution notice is an alternative way of dealing with less serious crimes, allowing PSNI officers to use their professional judgement when dealing with offences such as low level Public Disorder, Criminal Damage, Theft, minor assaults, and minor drug related offences. CRNs allow victims a quick resolution to the harm caused to them whilst giving those who commit the offence support to avoid further offending and the opportunity to repair the harm caused by their behaviour, without attracting a criminal record.

Community Responsibility Order (CRO)

A form of community service which may be imposed on a child, currently under the age of 18, and combines a specified number of hours to be spent on practical activities and instruction on citizenship. The aggregate number of hours specified in the order must not be less than 20 and not more than 40. In addition, the number of hours spent on instruction in citizenship must not be less than one half of the aggregate number of hours in the order.

Diversionary Youth Conference (DYC)

The PPS decides whether or not to refer a young person to a diversionary conference. These conferences however can only take place where the offender has admitted the offence. A diversionary conference is a meeting or a series of meetings held to consider how a young person should be dealt with for an offence. A conference plan will be produced, which will be presented to the prosecutor for their approval. If the prosecutor accepts the plan, the young person must comply. However, if the young person fails to comply or the prosecutor doesn’t accept the plan, then the prosecutor can refer the case to court.

Reparation Order (RO)

Requires the offender to make reparation either to the victim of the offence or some other person affected by it, or to the community at large. The order may currently be made only where the offender is under the age of 18 years. An order must not require the offender to make reparation for more than 24 hours or to make reparation to any person without their consent. Forms which reparation might take could be, for example, repairing property which has been damaged or removing graffiti.

Youth Conference Order (YCO)

Youth conferencing aims to balance the needs of the victim and the young offender by agreeing plans of action which satisfy the victim and create opportunities for the young person to make amends and stop committing crime. A referral to YJS can be made either by diversion via the PPS, or at court at the point of sentencing. In either case the child must admit the offence and be willing to take part in the conference. The conference agrees a plan for the child to complete comprising of various elements relevant to the child, the impact of the offence and their offending behaviour. The period of the plan must not be more than one year. A plan resulting from a court-ordered conference, subsequently agreed by the court, will form the basis of a Youth Conference Order.

Youth Engagement Clinics (YEC)

Youth engagement is a tripartite initiative involving PSNI, PPS and YJA which was piloted in 2012/13 and is now fully implemented and operational across Northern Ireland. This intervention aims to keep children who have offended away from the formal Court environment, whilst encouraging them to take responsibility for their behaviour and to take up whatever support is seen as necessary: to help prevent further offending behaviour and harm. Youth engagement clinics are hosted by YJA and delivered jointly, with Police Youth Diversion Officers. Youth engagement clinics can result in a number of diversionary disposals including informed warnings and restorative cautions (both PSNI led) and diversionary youth conferences, which are taken forward by YJA.

Technical Notes

Area Statistics

Area statistics in this publication have been based on the young person’s home address postcode at time of admission to the JJC or referral to YJS. If this information is unavailable then, where possible, the most recent home address postcode information held for the individual has been used.

It should also be noted that areas which contain care homes will have a greater concentration of referrals as children in care will have these addresses recorded as their permanent place of residence at the time of referral.

Data Source

The primary data source for this report is the YJA’s case management system, used for the day to day management of cases supervised by the Agency, both within a custodial and community setting.

Data quality and validation

Following guidance provided by the Office for National Statistics on the Quality Assessment of Administrative Data, information pertaining to data quality and validation is continually assessed. A number of accuracy, quality assurance/ validation procedures have been conducted upon the dataset used to compile this data series, to ensure the data extracted are accurate, complete and fit for the statistical purposes for which they are to be used. Both automated and manual checks have been carried out at individual case level and data corrected, where possible, to ensure that key fields are complete and logical and a general check of the data as a whole suggests no other anomalies. Full details of the data quality checks and processes that are in place are documented in the Quality Assurance of Administrative Data (QAAD) document on the DoJ website.

Within the 2017/18 YJS dataset, there was an increase in the number of records where religion had not been recorded. Due to quality concerns related to the missing values, information by religion was removed from 2017/18 onwards. This is under continuing annual review.

Statistical coverage

The statistics in this publication are based on the number of admissions to, and status changes, within JJC and the number of YJS referrals over a five year period (from the financial year 2021/22 to 2025/26). Tables with data from earlier years (from financial year 2008/09 to 2025/26) are available within the Microsoft Excel and OpenDocument Spreadsheet format documents available at www.justice-ni.gov.uk.

Analysis and Presentation of Statistics

The data used in this report is extracted using Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and is validated, maintained and analysed using a combination of Microsoft SQL Server Management and RStudio.

For ease of use, figures are given as whole numbers throughout the text, tables and charts. Percentages and population rates are rounded to one decimal place. Whilst tables of information have been included in Data Tables, the tables are also published alongside this bulletin in Microsoft Excel and OpenDocument Spreadsheet format, for ease of use.

About YJA

Context

The Youth Justice Agency (YJA) aims to make communities safer by helping children to stop offending. Working with 10-17 year olds who have offended or are at serious risk of offending, it provides a range of services, often delivered in partnership with others, to help the children address their offending behaviour, divert them from crime, assist their integration into the community and to meet the needs of victims. These front-line services are delivered by the Youth Justice Services (YJS) and Custodial Services (Woodlands Juvenile Justice Centre,(JJC)) directorates within YJA.

Youth Justice Services (YJS)

The YJS directorate provides a range of services for children, their families, communities and victims via five area teams spread across the province – Belfast, Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western. As an established part of the Northern Ireland criminal justice system, YJS provides a number of disposals to facilitate YJA’s restorative approach focusing on the needs of children and victims. While the most frequently used disposal is youth conferencing, other disposals including community orders are also provided. An overview of the different disposals used are detailed in the Definitions section.

YJS also carries out earlier stage diversion work with children on the cusp of or involved in the early stages of offending to help divert them from the formal justice system. An element of this work is carried out via a variety of awareness raising schemes with children referred by PSNI (YJA PSNI Referral Schemes). Referrals may be made when a young person receives a Community Resolution Notice (CRN) for an applicable offence (e.g. drugs, alcohol, public order, criminal damage) or when PSNI Youth Diversion Officers identify children who may benefit from awareness sessions relating to social media (sexting). Vaping awareness raising sessions, which were originally classified separately, have now been incorporated under the CRN referral schemes.

CRNs can be issued to anyone aged 10 years or over for a range of minor offences. Following a CRN referral, YJA delivers educational sessions on drugs, alcohol, public order, criminal damage etc. with new topic categories being added as appropriate.

This report also provides an overview of the workload of YJS and the children involved, both through the PSNI Referral Schemes and YJA Referrals. It focuses specifically on the numbers of schemes and YJA referrals, each of which is analysed by age and gender, and the individuals receiving YJA referrals in terms of age, gender, area of residence and offence type. If a child requires further support to desist from offending following completion of a PSNI Referral Scheme, a referral to the Children’s Diversion Forum may be considered which could lead to an Earlier Stage Diversion case referral to YJA. Children accessing support as the result of a Children’s Diversion Forum will be counted in the YJA Referral figures. To avoid the risk of double counting PSNI Referral Schemes and YJA Referrals are reported separately within this publication.

Custodial Services

Woodlands JJC provides custodial facilities, offering a wide range of services and support to help prevent children from re-offending. It can accommodate up to 48 young boys and girls aged between 10 and 17 placed in custody.

The children in the JJC may be held on either a Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) Order, remand or when sentenced. Information is recorded on each admission, each change of status (for example, when a young person transfers from PACE to remand) and each discharge.

An overview of the workload of custodial services is provided, specifically the total number of admissions to and changes of status within the JJC (for example when a child transfers from PACE to remand) and individuals in custody. Admissions plus changes of status within the JJC constitute the daily workload of the centre and are collectively referred to as movements. Discharges are not included as all admissions will ultimately result in a discharge.

About this report

The following methodological considerations should be taken into account when reading this report -

• The YJS statistics in this report relate specifically to referrals received from the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) and the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS). These figures do not reflect the number of plans/orders made by PPS/NICTS as children may withdraw their consent and receive another disposal. In addition, an agreement can be reached at the conference for no further action to be taken against the young person i.e. a plan is not required. We also receive voluntary referrals which are reported in the YJS section of this report.

• In terms of individual involvement with the YJA, a child is counted on their first involvement with each individual work area: YJA PSNI referral schemes; YJA referrals; and custody, within the given year. Each child therefore will only be counted once within each of the three work areas. For example, a child who has been in contact with both JJC and YJS in 2025/26 will be counted once in the JJC statistics and once in the YJS statistics for 2025/26. Similarly, a child who has been the subject of a PSNI referral scheme and has also received a YJA referral will be counted in each set of statistics.

• Furthermore, individual children involved with JJC are counted on their first movement during each financial year; therefore a child will only be counted once within a given financial year but could be counted within more than one financial year. Admissions is the total number of times children have been admitted to the JJC during each financial year as some children may be admitted to custody on more than one occasion. Movements constitutes admissions plus any changes of status within JJC.

• The primary data source for this report is the YJA’s case management system, used for the day to day management of cases supervised by the Agency, both within a custodial and community setting.

• Information is based on data extracted after 1 July each year, for example the data for 2025/26 will be extracted after 1 July 2026.

• Statistics from youth engagement clinic referrals are not included in this report but are available in a separate report (Youth Engagement Statistics for Northern Ireland (opens in a new window).

• Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics (opens in a new window) that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

Data Tables

Table 1: YJA PSNI referral schemes, 2023/24 to 2025/26

Number of PSNI Referral Schemes
Financial Year CRN Schemes Sexting Schemes Total Schemes
2023/24 1,184 309 1,493
2024/25 791 287 1,078
2025/26 770 201 971
Percentage of PSNI Referral Schemes
Financial Year CRN Schemes Sexting Schemes Total Schemes
2023/24 79.3 20.7 100.0
2024/25 73.4 26.6 100.0
2025/26 79.3 20.7 100.0

Table 2: CRN referral schemes by topic, 2025/26

CRN Scheme Number Percent
Offence Awareness 236 30.6
Drug and Alcohol Awareness 185 24.0
Violence Awareness 92 11.9
Theft/Dishonesty Awareness 87 11.3
Making Better Choices 63 8.2
Criminal Damage Awareness 61 7.9
Public Order Awareness 41 5.3
Citizenship 5 0.6
Total 770 100.0

Table 3: YJA PSNI referral schemes by gender, 2025/26

Number of schemes by gender
Scheme Type Male Female Total Schemes [Note 1]
CRN Schemes 589 172 770
Sexting Schemes 130 69 201
Total 719 241 971
Percentage of referral schemes by gender
Scheme Type Male Female Total Schemes [Note 1]
CRN Schemes 76.5 22.3 98.8
Sexting Schemes 64.7 34.3 99.0
Total 74.0 24.8 98.9
  1. Figures for each gender may not sum to 100% as providing gender is optional and for a small proportion is not available.

Table 4: YJA PSNI referral schemes by age, 2025/26

Number of PSNI referrals schemes by age
Age CRN Schemes Sexting Schemes Total Schemes
Age 10 6 5 11
Age 11 25 15 40
Age 12 90 40 130
Age 13 110 31 141
Age 14 125 35 160
Age 15 124 32 156
Age 16 128 27 155
Age 17+ 162 16 178
Total 770 201 971
Percentage of PSNI referrals schemes by age
Age CRN Schemes Sexting Schemes Total Schemes
Age 10 0.8 2.5 1.1
Age 11 3.2 7.5 4.1
Age 12 11.7 19.9 13.4
Age 13 14.3 15.4 14.5
Age 14 16.2 17.4 16.5
Age 15 16.1 15.9 16.1
Age 16 16.6 13.4 16.0
Age 17+ 21.0 8.0 18.3
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0

Table 5: Referrals to YJS, number of individual children involved and population comparison, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Financial Year Referrals To YJS Individual Children Involved NI Population Aged 10-17 [Note 1] Rate Per 1,000
2021/22 1,435 904 197,423 4.6
2022/23 1,361 774 197,423 3.9
2023/24 1,525 809 201,115 4.0
2024/25 1,402 768 203,789 3.8
2025/26 1,325 709 206,031 3.4
  1. Rate per 1,000 population aged 10 to 17. Population data source: 2024 Mid-Year Population Estimates for Northern Ireland (opens in a new window)

Table 6: YJS referrals by type, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Number of YJS referrals by type
Financial Year Diversionary Court Ordered Community Orders [Note 1] Earlier Stage Diversion Voluntary Other [Note 2]
Total Referral
2021/22 650 366 20 301 85 13 1,435
2022/23 648 367 21 230 79 16 1,361
2023/24 850 367 12 207 82 7 1,525
2024/25 750 338 11 187 107 9 1,402
2025/26 697 322 13 168 118 7 1,325
Percentage of YJS referrals by type
Financial Year Diversionary Court Ordered Community Orders [Note 1] Earlier Stage Diversion Voluntary Other [Note 2]
Total Referral
2021/22 45.3 25.5 1.4 21.0 5.9 0.9 100.0
2022/23 47.6 27.0 1.5 16.9 5.8 1.2 100.0
2023/24 55.7 24.1 0.8 13.6 5.4 0.5 100.0
2024/25 53.5 24.1 0.8 13.3 7.6 0.6 100.0
2025/26 52.6 24.3 1.0 12.7 8.9 0.5 100.0
  1. Community order referrals include attendance centre orders, community responsibility orders and reparation orders.
  2. Other referrals include Juvenile Justice Centre orders where YJS are involved in supervising the community element, reducing offending programme, bail support cases and work with probation.

Table 7: Individual children referred to YJS by gender, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Number of individual children referred by gender
Financial Year Male Female Total Children [Note 1]
2021/22 701 201 904
2022/23 592 175 774
2023/24 605 199 809
2024/25 566 197 768
2025/26 534 170 709
Percentage of individual children referred by gender
Financial Year Male Female Total Children [Note 1]
2021/22 77.5 22.2 99.8
2022/23 76.5 22.6 99.1
2023/24 74.8 24.6 99.4
2024/25 73.7 25.7 99.3
2025/26 75.3 24.0 99.3
  1. Figures for each gender may not sum to total number of children as providing gender is optional and for a small proportion is not available.

Table 8: YJS referrals by gender, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Number of YJS referrals by gender
Financial Year Male Female Total Referrals [Note 1]
2021/22 1,083 350 1,435
2022/23 1,025 315 1,361
2023/24 1,096 412 1,525
2024/25 930 457 1,402
2025/26 926 391 1,325
Percentage of YJS referrals by gender
Financial Year Male Female Total Referrals [Note 1]
2021/22 75.5 24.4 99.9
2022/23 75.3 23.1 98.5
2023/24 71.9 27.0 98.9
2024/25 66.3 32.6 98.9
2025/26 69.9 29.5 99.4
  1. Figures for each gender may not sum to total number of referrals as providing gender is optional and for a small proportion is not available.

Table 9: Individual children referred to YJS by age, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Number of Individual YJS referrals by age
Financial Year 10 to 13 14 15 16 17 and over Total Referrals
2021/22 154 135 167 172 276 904
2022/23 151 118 151 152 202 774
2023/24 168 119 139 172 211 809
2024/25 172 114 149 139 194 768
2025/26 140 101 142 139 187 709
Percentage of Individual YJS referrals by age
Financial Year 10 to 13 14 15 16 17 and over Total Referrals
2021/22 17.0 14.9 18.5 19.0 30.5 100.0
2022/23 19.5 15.2 19.5 19.6 26.1 100.0
2023/24 20.8 14.7 17.2 21.3 26.1 100.0
2024/25 22.4 14.8 19.4 18.1 25.3 100.0
2025/26 19.7 14.2 20.0 19.6 26.4 100.0

Table 10: YJS referrals by age, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Number of YJS referrals by age
Financial Year 10 to 13 14 15 16 17 and over Total Referrals
2021/22 208 168 280 305 474 1,435
2022/23 259 198 312 269 323 1,361
2023/24 321 219 257 380 348 1,525
2024/25 298 239 263 253 349 1,402
2025/26 215 217 339 271 283 1,325
Percentage of YJS referrals by age
Financial Year 10 to 13 14 15 16 17 and over Total Referrals
2021/22 14.5 11.7 19.5 21.3 33.0 100.0
2022/23 19.0 14.5 22.9 19.8 23.7 100.0
2023/24 21.0 14.4 16.9 24.9 22.8 100.0
2024/25 21.3 17.0 18.8 18.0 24.9 100.0
2025/26 16.2 16.4 25.6 20.5 21.4 100.0

Table 11: Individual children referred to YJS by area of residence and rate per 1,000 population [Note 1], 2021/22 to 2025/26

Table 11a: Individual Referrals
Area 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Antrim and Newtownabbey 79 59 39 50 46
Ards and North Down 44 65 63 52 46
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon 91 91 101 91 89
Belfast 205 160 219 191 187
Causeway Coast and Glens 83 67 62 57 55
Derry City and Strabane 77 62 72 67 46
Fermanagh and Omagh 68 63 57 45 35
Lisburn and Castlereagh 39 38 46 40 38
Mid and East Antrim 88 62 50 50 56
Mid Ulster 53 34 28 42 40
Newry, Mourne and Down 77 72 72 81 71
Resident outside NI 0 1 0 0 0
Northern Ireland 904 774 809 768 709
Table 11b: Rate of Referrals per 1,000 Population
Area 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Antrim and Newtownabbey 5.2 3.9 2.5 3.2 2.9
Ards and North Down 2.8 4.1 3.9 3.2 2.8
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon 3.7 3.7 4.0 3.6 3.5
Belfast 6.3 4.9 6.5 5.6 5.4
Causeway Coast and Glens 5.8 4.7 4.3 3.9 3.8
Derry City and Strabane 4.7 3.8 4.3 4.0 2.7
Fermanagh and Omagh 5.4 5.0 4.4 3.5 2.7
Lisburn and Castlereagh 2.6 2.5 3.0 2.5 2.4
Mid and East Antrim 6.5 4.6 3.6 3.6 4.1
Mid Ulster 3.1 2.0 1.6 2.4 2.2
Newry, Mourne and Down 3.8 3.5 3.5 3.9 3.3
Northern Ireland 4.6 3.9 4.0 3.8 3.4
  1. Rate per 1,000 population aged 10 to 17. Population data source: 2024 Mid-Year Population Estimates for Northern Ireland (opens in a new window).

Table 12: Referrals to YJS by area of residence, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Area 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Antrim and Newtownabbey 108 90 58 69 66
Ards and North Down 128 155 237 191 195
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon 152 147 148 130 134
Belfast 294 231 360 296 319
Causeway Coast and Glens 124 124 124 107 94
Derry City and Strabane 152 154 140 149 92
Fermanagh and Omagh 95 96 96 96 67
Lisburn and Castlereagh 55 89 91 70 68
Mid and East Antrim 147 104 76 66 100
Mid Ulster 73 52 44 68 52
Newry, Mourne and Down 106 118 151 158 138
Resident outside NI 1 1 0 0 0
Total 1,435 1,361 1,525 1,402 1,325

Table 13: Statutory referrals [Note 1] by offence group [Note 2], 2025/26

Number of Statutory referrals by offence group
Offence Group Number Percent
VAP 432 41.6
Criminal Damage and Arson 181 17.4
Theft 137 13.2
Public Order 91 8.8
Fraud 68 6.5
Drugs 41 3.9
Possession of Weapons 30 2.9
Misc - general 29 2.8
Sexual 15 1.4
Burglary 13 1.3
No offence recorded [Note 3] 1 0.1
Robbery 1 0.1
Total 1,039 100.0
  1. Statutory referrals includes Diversionary, Court Ordered, Community Orders and Other (JJCO, Probation and Bail).
  2. Offence Groups is a statistical grouping created so NI statistics are comparable.
  3. No offence recorded in a Bail Support – Court referral as offence already included.

Table 14: Admissions to and movements within JJC and children in custody, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Admissions to and movements within JJC and children in custody
Financial Year Admissions to Woodlands JJC Movements Within Woodlands JJC Individual Children Admitted NI Population Aged 10-17 Rate Per 1,000 [Note 1]
2021/22 207 288 106 197,423 0.5
2022/23 224 314 110 197,423 0.6
2023/24 214 301 104 201,115 0.5
2024/25 180 265 95 203,789 0.5
2025/26 216 295 112 206,031 0.5
  1. Rate per 1,000 population aged 10 to 17. Population data source: 2024 Mid-Year Population Estimates for Northern Ireland (opens in a new window).

Table 15: JJC admissions by status, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Table 15a: Number of JJC Admissions
Financial Year PACE Remand Sentence Total Admissions
2021/22 165 42 0 207
2022/23 176 45 3 224
2023/24 180 29 5 214
2024/25 150 27 3 180
2025/26 179 33 4 216
Table 15b: Percentage of JJC Admissions
Financial Year PACE Remand Sentence Total Admissions
2021/22 79.7 20.3 0.0 100.0
2022/23 78.6 20.1 1.3 100.0
2023/24 84.1 13.6 2.3 100.0
2024/25 83.3 15.0 1.7 100.0
2025/26 82.9 15.3 1.9 100.0

Table 16: JJC Movements by status, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Table 16a: Number of JJC Movements
Financial Year PACE Remand Sentence Total Admissions
2021/22 165 116 7 288
2022/23 176 123 15 314
2023/24 180 114 7 301
2024/25 150 107 8 265
2025/26 179 110 6 295
Table 16b: Percentage of JJC Movements
Financial Year PACE Remand Sentence Total Admissions
2021/22 57.3 40.3 2.4 100.0
2022/23 56.1 39.2 4.8 100.0
2023/24 59.8 37.9 2.3 100.0
2024/25 56.6 40.4 3.0 100.0
2025/26 60.7 37.3 2.0 100.0

Table 17: Individual children in custody by gender, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Table 17a: Number of individual children in custody by gender
Financial Year Male Female Total Children [Note 1]
2021/22 89 17 106
2022/23 90 18 110
2023/24 79 23 104
2024/25 68 26 95
2025/26 86 26 112
Table 17b: Percentage of individual children in custody by gender
Financial Year Male Female Total Children [Note 1]
2021/22 84.0 16.0 100.0
2022/23 81.8 16.4 98.2
2023/24 76.0 22.1 98.1
2024/25 71.6 27.4 98.9
2025/26 76.8 23.2 100.0
  1. Figures for each gender may not sum to total number of children, admissions or movements as providing gender is optional and for a small proportion is not available.

Table 18: Admissions to JJC by gender, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Table 18a: Number of admissions to JJC by gender
Financial Year Male Female Total Admissions [Note 1]
2021/22 173 34 207
2022/23 186 31 224
2023/24 158 50 214
2024/25 123 53 180
2025/26 131 85 216
Table 18b: Percentage of admissions to JJC by gender
Financial Year Male Female Total Admissions [Note 1]
2021/22 83.6 16.4 100.0
2022/23 83.0 13.8 96.9
2023/24 73.8 23.4 97.2
2024/25 68.3 29.4 97.8
2025/26 60.6 39.4 100.0
  1. Figures for each gender may not sum to total number of children, admissions or movements as providing gender is optional and for a small proportion is not available.

Table 19: Movements within JJC by gender, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Table 19a: Number of movements within JJC by gender
Financial Year Male Female Total Movements [Note 1]
2021/22 241 47 288
2022/23 262 42 314
2023/24 229 65 301
2024/25 181 76 265
2025/26 179 116 295
Table 19b: Percentage of movements within JJC by gender
Financial Year Male Female Total Movements [Note 1]
2021/22 83.7 16.3 100.0
2022/23 83.4 13.4 96.8
2023/24 76.1 21.6 97.7
2024/25 68.3 28.7 97.0
2025/26 60.7 39.3 100.0
  1. Figures for each gender may not sum to total number of children, admissions or movements as providing gender is optional and for a small proportion is not available.

Table 20: Individual children in custody by age, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Table 20a: Number of children in custody by age
Financial Year 10 to 13 14 15 16 17 and over Total Children
2021/22 4 13 27 21 41 106
2022/23 13 6 22 26 43 110
2023/24 10 7 13 35 39 104
2024/25 6 12 14 27 36 95
2025/26 7 18 29 22 36 112
Table 20b: Percentage of children in custody by age
Financial Year 10 to 13 14 15 16 17 and over Total Children
2021/22 3.8 12.3 25.5 19.8 38.7 100.0
2022/23 11.8 5.5 20.0 23.6 39.1 100.0
2023/24 9.6 6.7 12.5 33.7 37.5 100.0
2024/25 6.3 12.6 14.7 28.4 37.9 100.0
2025/26 6.3 16.1 25.9 19.6 32.1 100.0

Table 21: Admissions to JJC by age, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Table 21a: Number of admissions to JJC by age
Financial Year 10 to 13 14 15 16 17 and over Total Admissions
2021/22 7 27 50 37 86 207
2022/23 37 13 45 46 83 224
2023/24 27 13 24 71 79 214
2024/25 15 31 21 52 61 180
2025/26 14 44 65 32 61 216
Table 21b: Percentage of admissions to JJC by age
Financial Year 10 to 13 14 15 16 17 and over Total Admissions
2021/22 3.4 13.0 24.2 17.9 41.5 100.0
2022/23 16.5 5.8 20.1 20.5 37.1 100.0
2023/24 12.6 6.1 11.2 33.2 36.9 100.0
2024/25 8.3 17.2 11.7 28.9 33.9 100.0
2025/26 6.5 20.4 30.1 14.8 28.2 100.0

Table 22: Movements within JJC by age, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Table 22a: Movements within JJC by age
Financial Year 10 to 13 14 15 16 17 and over Total Movements
2021/22 9 36 72 52 119 288
2022/23 52 15 64 68 115 314
2023/24 31 18 34 104 114 301
2024/25 21 46 32 69 97 265
2025/26 19 57 87 45 87 295
Table 22b: Percentage of movements within JJC by age
Financial Year 10 to 13 14 15 16 17 and over Total Movements
2021/22 3.1 12.5 25.0 18.1 41.3 100.0
2022/23 16.6 4.8 20.4 21.7 36.6 100.0
2023/24 10.3 6.0 11.3 34.6 37.9 100.0
2024/25 7.9 17.4 12.1 26.0 36.6 100.0
2025/26 6.4 19.3 29.5 15.3 29.5 100.0

Table 23: Individual children in custody by religion [Note 1], 2021/22 to 2025/26

Table 23a: Number of children in custody by religion
Financial Year Catholic Protestant Other No Religious Belief Unknown Total Children
2021/22 55 21 7 10 13 106
2022/23 63 15 7 8 17 110
2023/24 48 25 6 16 9 104
2024/25 36 30 6 9 14 95
2025/26 43 31 4 10 24 112
Table 23b: Percentage of children in custody by religion
Financial Year Catholic Protestant Other No Religious Belief Unknown Total Children
2021/22 51.9 19.8 6.6 9.4 12.3 100.0
2022/23 57.3 13.6 6.4 7.3 15.5 100.0
2023/24 46.2 24.0 5.8 15.4 8.7 100.0
2024/25 37.9 31.6 6.3 9.5 14.7 100.0
2025/26 38.4 27.7 3.6 8.9 21.4 100.0
  1. Unlike other demographic information this is self-reported by the child and can therefore not be validated.

Table 24: Admissions to JJC by religion [Note 1], 2021/22 to 2025/26

Table 24a: Number of admissions to JJC by religion
Financial Year Catholic Protestant Other No Religious Belief Unknown Total Admissions
2021/22 125 35 14 12 21 207
2022/23 115 46 20 21 22 224
2023/24 106 47 13 31 17 214
2024/25 62 56 12 11 39 180
2025/26 86 72 5 18 35 216
Table 24b: Percentage of admissions to JJC by religion
Financial Year Catholic Protestant Other No Religious Belief Unknown Total Admissions
2021/22 60.4 16.9 6.8 5.8 10.1 100.0
2022/23 51.3 20.5 8.9 9.4 9.8 100.0
2023/24 49.5 22.0 6.1 14.5 7.9 100.0
2024/25 34.4 31.1 6.7 6.1 21.7 100.0
2025/26 39.8 33.3 2.3 8.3 16.2 100.0
  1. Unlike other demographic information this is self-reported by the child and can therefore not be validated.

Table 25: Movements within JJC by religion [Note 1], 2021/22 to 2025/26

Table 25a: Number of movements within JJC by religion
Financial Year Catholic Protestant Other No Religious Belief Unknown Total Movements
2021/22 171 47 21 16 33 288
2022/23 159 64 30 31 30 314
2023/24 150 67 20 44 20 301
2024/25 90 83 20 19 53 265
2025/26 120 97 8 24 46 295
Table 25b: Percentage of movements within JJC by religion
Financial Year Catholic Protestant Other No Religious Belief Unknown Total Movements
2021/22 59.4 16.3 7.3 5.6 11.5 100.0
2022/23 50.6 20.4 9.6 9.9 9.6 100.0
2023/24 49.8 22.3 6.6 14.6 6.6 100.0
2024/25 34.0 31.3 7.5 7.2 20.0 100.0
2025/26 40.7 32.9 2.7 8.1 15.6 100.0
  1. Unlike other demographic information this is self-reported by the child and can therefore not be validated.

Table 26: Individual children in custody by looked after status [Note 1], 2021/22 to 2025/26 [Note 2]

Table 26a: Number of children in custody by looked after status
Financial Year Subject to Care Order Voluntary Accommodated Total Looked After Not in Care Unknown Total Children
2021/22 33 3 36 64 6 106
2022/23 36 10 46 64 0 110
2023/24 38 7 45 59 0 104
2024/25 37 9 46 49 0 95
2025/26 ## # 36 76 0 112
Table 26b: Percentage of children in custody by looked after status
Financial Year Subject to Care Order Voluntary Accommodated Total Looked After Not in Care Unknown Total Children
2021/22 31.1 2.8 34.0 60.4 5.7 100.0
2022/23 32.7 9.1 41.8 58.2 0.0 100.0
2023/24 36.5 6.7 43.3 56.7 0.0 100.0
2024/25 38.9 9.5 48.4 51.6 0.0 100.0
2025/26 ## # 32.1 67.9 0.0 100.0
  1. Looked after status is determined based on the child’s first admission within the relevant financial year.
  2. ‘#’ Figures under 3 have been treated under rules of disclosure.
    ‘##’ means a figure of 3 or more has been treated to prevent disclosure of a small number elsewhere.

Table 27: Admissions to JJC by looked after status [Note 1], 2021/22 to 2025/26 [Note 2]

Table 27a: Number of admissions to JJC by looked after status
Financial Year Subject to Care Order Voluntary Accommodated Total Looked After Not in Care Unknown Total Admissions
2021/22 77 15 92 109 6 207
2022/23 95 18 113 110 1 224
2023/24 105 20 125 89 0 214
2024/25 82 20 102 78 0 180
2025/26 ## # 110 106 0 216
Table 27b: Percentage of admissions to JJC by looked after status
Financial Year Subject to Care Order Voluntary Accommodated Total Looked After Not in Care Unknown Total Admissions
2021/22 37.2 7.2 44.4 52.7 2.9 100.0
2022/23 42.4 8 50.4 49.1 0.4 100.0
2023/24 49.1 9.3 58.4 41.6 0.0 100.0
2024/25 45.6 11.1 56.7 43.3 0.0 100.0
2025/26 ## # 50.9 49.1 0.0 100.0
  1. Looked after status is determined based on the child’s first admission within the relevant financial year.
  2. ‘#’ Figures under 3 have been treated under rules of disclosure.
    ‘##’ means a figure of 3 or more has been treated to prevent disclosure of a small number elsewhere.

Table 28: Movements within JJC by looked after status [Note 1], 2021/22 to 2025/26 [Note 2]

Table 28a: Number of movements within JJC by looked after status
Financial Year Subject to Care Order Voluntary Accommodated Total Looked After Not in Care Unknown Total Movements
2021/22 100 21 121 159 8 288
2022/23 129 25 154 159 1 314
2023/24 139 30 169 132 0 301
2024/25 115 27 142 123 0 265
2025/26 ## # 144 151 0 295
Table 28b: Percentage of movements within JJC by looked after status
Financial Year Subject to Care Order Voluntary Accommodated Total Looked After Not in Care Unknown Total Movements
2021/22 34.7 7.3 42.0 55.2 2.8 100.0
2022/23 41.1 8 49.0 50.6 0.3 100.0
2023/24 46.2 10 56.1 43.9 0.0 100.0
2024/25 43.4 10.2 53.6 46.4 0.0 100.0
2025/26 ## # 48.8 51.2 0.0 100.0
  1. Looked after status is determined based on the child’s first admission within the relevant financial year.
  2. ‘#’ Figures under 3 have been treated under rules of disclosure.
    ‘##’ means a figure of 3 or more has been treated to prevent disclosure of a small number elsewhere.

Table 29: Individual children in custody by area of residence and rate per 1,000 population [Note 1], 2021/22 to 2025/26

Table 29a: Individual children in custody
Area 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Antrim and Newtownabbey 5 5 5 3 4
Ards and North Down 7 11 8 6 13
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon 18 13 13 9 11
Belfast 23 22 19 25 23
Causeway Coast and Glens 5 6 8 8 5
Derry City and Strabane 13 16 17 14 13
Fermanagh and Omagh 4 3 6 6 5
Lisburn and Castlereagh 5 4 5 9 7
Mid and East Antrim 4 2 3 2 10
Mid Ulster 7 7 6 0 2
Newry, Mourne and Down 10 13 9 8 15
Resident outside NI 4 8 0 5 1
Unassigned [Note 2] 1 0 0 0 0
Total 106 110 104 95 112
Table 29b: Rate of individuals in custody per 1,000 population
Area 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Antrim and Newtownabbey 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3
Ards and North Down 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.8
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4
Belfast 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.7
Causeway Coast and Glens 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.3
Derry City and Strabane 0.8 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.8
Fermanagh and Omagh 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.4
Lisburn and Castlereagh 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.6 0.4
Mid and East Antrim 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.7
Mid Ulster 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.0 0.1
Newry, Mourne and Down 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.7
Total 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5
  1. Rate per 1,000 population aged 10 to 17. Population data source: 2024 Mid-Year Population Estimates for Northern Ireland (opens in a new window)
  2. Accurate address information was unavailable for these cases.

Table 30: Admissions to JJC by area of residence, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Area 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Antrim and Newtownabbey 12 8 6 5 5
Ards and North Down 18 25 21 16 39
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon 39 28 32 19 27
Belfast 50 34 28 45 37
Causeway Coast and Glens 7 14 14 12 10
Derry City and Strabane 25 44 34 31 31
Fermanagh and Omagh 4 4 13 11 9
Lisburn and Castlereagh 5 11 10 16 18
Mid and East Antrim 6 7 9 3 10
Mid Ulster 12 8 16 0 2
Newry, Mourne and Down 24 33 26 16 24
Resident outside NI 4 8 0 6 1
Unassigned [Note 1] 1 0 0 0 0
Northern Ireland 207 224 214 180 216
  1. Accurate address information was unavailable for these cases.

Table 31: Movements within JJC by area of residence, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Area 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Antrim and Newtownabbey 14 11 9 5 7
Ards and North Down 21 31 26 23 57
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon 64 42 43 28 42
Belfast 71 54 39 66 50
Causeway Coast and Glens 11 21 18 18 12
Derry City and Strabane 30 52 51 49 38
Fermanagh and Omagh 4 4 18 14 12
Lisburn and Castlereagh 6 16 13 27 26
Mid and East Antrim 8 8 11 5 13
Mid Ulster 19 16 24 0 2
Newry, Mourne and Down 32 49 43 21 32
Resident outside NI 6 10 0 9 1
Unassigned [Note 1] 2 0 0 0 0
Northern Ireland 288 314 301 265 295
  1. Accurate address information was unavailable for these cases.

Table 32: Average population by status, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Financial Year PACE Remand Sentence Average Population
2021/22 0.6 7.0 0.9 8.5
2022/23 0.6 9.0 1.0 10.5
2023/24 0.6 7.6 1.4 9.7
2024/25 0.5 6.2 1.0 7.7
2025/26 0.6 5.6 1.8 8.0

Table 33: Custody days by status 2021/22 to 2025/26

Number of custody days by status
Financial Year PACE Remand Sentence Total Custody Days
2021/22 233 2,543 344 3,120
2022/23 209 3,272 363 3,844
2023/24 219 2,790 525 3,534
2024/25 179 2,249 376 2,804
2025/26 207 2,053 643 2,903
Percentage of custody days by status
Financial Year PACE Remand Sentence Total Custody Days
2021/22 7.5 81.5 11.0 100.0
2022/23 5.4 85.1 9.4 100.0
2023/24 6.2 78.9 14.9 100.0
2024/25 6.4 80.2 13.4 100.0
2025/26 7.1 70.7 22.1 100.0

Table 34: PACE to remand/sentence conversion estimate, 2021/22 to 2025/26

Financial Year PACE Admissions PACE to Remand/Sentence Conversion Rate (%)
2021/22 165 74 44.8
2022/23 176 76 43.2
2023/24 180 85 47.2
2024/25 150 80 53.3
2025/26 179 77 43.0

Contact

Produced by: Analytical Services Group, Department of Justice

Address: Statistics and Research Branch
Youth Justice Agency
Charles House
103-111 Donegall Street
Belfast BT1 2JF

Lead Statisticians: M.Thornton and T. Brown

Telephone: 028 9031 6448

Email:

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