Fall in first time entrants to the criminal justice system long overdue - Howarth

1.01.27pm GMT Mon 30th Nov 2009

Commenting on Government figures showing a 20% fall in the number of first time entrants into the criminal justice system, Liberal Democrat Shadow Justice Secretary, David Howarth said: "The drop in children entering the criminal justice system for the first time is long overdue.

"When you consider that Labour convicted a million kids in their first decade in power and cautioned a million more, you have to wonder how many more kids there are to criminalise.

"Ministers must commit to programmes outside the criminal justice system for dealing with children, like restorative justice."