YOUNG offender institutions are significantly more violent than prisons holding adult men, the Chief Inspector of Prisons has warned.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons published two reports today that it said “paint a bleak picture of youth custody in England and Wales.”

The inspectorate said that while the number of children in custody continued to fall in 2022-23, levels of violence and self-harm rose by just over a quarter and a third respectively.