Black Children are more likely to be Criminalised

In June 2025, the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) released a new report that revealed alarming racial disparities in the way the police in London treat young people, especially Black children. The study found that black children are 15% more likely to be criminalised and detained by the Police than white children. That is, charged and forced through the formal criminal justice system.

Black children were nearly 15 percentage points less likely than their white peers to be offered diversion. This includes mentoring or counselling aimed at avoiding a criminal record. Even when the nature and severity of the offence were similar and after controlling for prior offending history. 

This analysis is supported by a substantial amount of data. Nearly 265,000 police contact records pertaining to children and youth in London were examined between 2015 and 2022. This discrepancy is a systemic issue that has actual ramifications for the lives and prospects of young Black Londoners; it is not just a statistical anomaly.

Black Children are 15% more likely to be criminalised: Explaining these Findings

Inequity despite similar circumstances

The YEF report shows that the chances of criminalisation for Black children is higher even when offence severity and prior records are matched. That suggests race, rather than behaviour or history, plays a significant role in who is diverted and who is criminalised. 

Black Children have unequal access to “second chances”

Diversion programmes — counselling, mentoring, community service, or other non-judicial support — can make a huge difference in a young person’s life. This is because it allows them to avoid a criminal record and the stigma, family stress, and long-term barriers that often come with it. That Black children are significantly less likely to be offered those alternatives means a disproportionate number end up with formal records, with long-term ripple effects.

Geographic inequality within London

The report also noted big differences by borough. Children living in outer London boroughs (e.g. Bromley, Kingston) were more likely to be diverted (diversion rates around 65–66 %). Wheres those living in inner London areas such as Lambeth or Hackney (where diversion rates dropped to 41–43 %). 

That means where a young person lives can dramatically affect their chances of getting a second chance. With inner-city youths, many of whom are more likely to be Black or from disadvantaged backgrounds, more exposed to criminalisation.

The Broader Effects on London Youths

Entry into the criminal justice system — and long-term stigma

Being criminalised as a youth (rather than diverted) carries a lifelong penalty. A criminal record — even for relatively minor offences — can hinder opportunities. This includes employment prospects, access to higher education, housing applications, and even social support opportunities. For many young Black Londoners, this early setback can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Institutional barriers make it harder to escape a cycle of policing, poverty, and social exclusion.

Increased distrust of authorities amongst Black Children

When police disproportionately target Black children, it erodes trust. That is treating them more harshly than white children for the same behaviour. These experiences — especially for children — can shape how entire communities view public institutions. If young people grow up feeling they are judged unfairly because of their race, this can lead to alienation, resentment, and reduced willingness to cooperate with police or social support services.

Mental health and community wellbeing

Criminalisation during childhood or adolescence takes a heavy emotional toll. The shame, fear, and trauma associated with arrest, custody, or criminal records can contribute to anxiety and depression. Furthermore, it can cause disengagement from school and community life. Over time this can exacerbate cycles of disadvantage, underachievement, and social marginalisation.

Reinforcing inequality and social segregation

Because the disparities are linked with both race and geography, they intensify socioeconomic inequalities and segregation. Young people from poorer, inner London areas — already disadvantaged in education, housing, employment — now face an additional structural barrier. A greater chance of being criminalised by default.

What the Data Suggests: A Problem of Systemic Bias

The report’s findings show previous evidence of racial bias in policing in the UK. For instance:

• Black children are significantly more likely to be subject to stop-and-search and even strip-search in some cases, compared to white children — not always leading to arrests or convictions. 
• Children and young people from minority backgrounds remain overrepresented in arrests, cautions, sentencing, and custody.
  

Taken together, these patterns suggest that it is not just crime rates or youth behaviour driving criminalisation — but structural factors within the policing and justice system itself, which treat young Black Londoners differently.

What Needs to Change: Towards a Fairer Approach towards Black Children

The findings from YEF highlight the need for urgent reform — not just in policing practices, but in policy and youth justice more broadly.

• Greater and fairer use of diversion programmes. Diversion — counselling, mentoring, community service — has been shown to reduce reoffending and help young people avoid criminal records. If used equitably, it could dramatically lessen the disproportionate criminalisation of Black youth.
  
• Standardised criteria irrespective of race or location. Arrest and diversion decisions should follow objective, transparent guidelines — not subjective judgments affected by bias or implicit assumptions.
  
• Investment in social support and community services. Many young people in inner London face socioeconomic disadvantage: poverty, housing instability, under-resourced schools, and limited opportunities. Addressing these root factors could reduce offending, without relying on policing or incarceration.
  
• Monitoring, accountability, and community oversight. Police practices — stop-and-search, arrests, diversion offers — must be closely monitored and regularly reviewed for racial and geographic disparities. Communities should be involved in oversight.
  
• Support for mental health and reintegration. For those who have been involved with the criminal justice system, it’s vital to provide social support, counselling, schooling or training opportunities, to prevent marginalisation and break the cycle of reoffending.
  

Conclusion

The new 2025 study from the Youth Endowment Fund delivers a sobering message: in London, being young and Black continues to come with an unfair price. Even for similar offences and histories, Black children are significantly more likely to be criminalised — rather than given second chances through diversion. This doesn’t just reflect individual bias: it exposes a structural problem within policing and youth justice that reinforces inequality, diminishes opportunity, and damages community trust.

For a city as diverse as London, with millions of young people from different backgrounds, it’s a systemic failure — one that demands urgent reform, transparency, and compassion. Unless things change, this disparity will continue to shape the futures of countless young lives.

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