Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

I, too, support the amendment for all the reasons already outlined, and I agree particularly with the noble Lord, Lord Judd, in his view that much more still needs to be done to prevent children and young people being taken into custody. We must never forget that they are at a very vulnerable stage and can be turned back from their anti-social behaviour if we pick the right moment. I hope that we can get the Minister to take this on board because it is provides an alternative way of dealing with young offenders. The quoted 44 per cent success rate with this approach is much higher than any of the alternatives, and that adds to the reasons why I wish to support the amendment.