Tax Payer

Youth offending costs the taxpayer a fortune…· 

• It costs £100,000 to keep a youth offender in prison annually;
• On release he/she is highly likely to reoffend (73%);
• After a custodial sentence young people find it very difficult to find employment;
• Met-Track is saving the British taxpayer millions right now:  
• Preventing one pupil in one school term from offending and ending in custody saves over £300,000     
• Preventing one pupil per school term in every Met-Track borough from being incarcerated  saves over £690,000·

 
In reality we are achieving (a lot) more than that! The figures above are frightening, but they are actually worse – they don’t account for the time and work involved by youth agencies, the Police, and the Criminal Justice System in getting a youth offender off the streets and into custody in the first place. That cost is astronomical! In short, Met-Track is saving the British taxpayer many millions of pounds!

Punishing Costs
Locking up children and young people for non-violent offences is costing the taxpayer millions, while doing little to reduce the amount of crime. This report presents new results on the full cost to society of the use prisons. It outlines a policy to change the pattern of public spending for a safer and more inclusive society.