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An eightfold increase in the number of children being locked up by the courts during a decade when recorded youth crime was actually falling, as Nacro’s report shows, is shameful. The Youth Justice Board’s recent report showing a 40 fold difference in the custodial sentences dispensed by courts around the country is an equally shocking testament to the lack of justice in the youth justice system. This is a breach of the human rights of young people and damages the whole community too as custody fails to tackle the causes of young people’s offending behaviour, or to stop it recurring.