Teenage girls are committing less crime, with a big fall in violent offences, but are ending up in custody over “minor misdemeanours” a parliamentary inquiry has found.
As part of a year-long inquiry into girls, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Women in the Penal System found that the number of girls arrested each year has been falling since 2008.
In line with this, the number of disposals given to girls for offences has fallen from 59,236 in 2006/07 to 43,186 in 2009/10, a drop of 27.1 per cent.
The number of violent offences committed by girls has fallen from 17,415 in 2006/07 to 12,291 in 2009/10, a fall of 29 per cent.
The APPG, co-chaired by Baroness
