The latest census data shows that one in four of Croydon’s population is aged under 17 making it one of the highest youth populations in London.
The Youth Justice Team supervises around 120 children, with a strong focus on crime prevention and knife-related offending.
Knife crime is down 24% in the borough since 2023 and the council says custody numbers have also fallen significantly.
Many of the children using the service are known to Social Care and are in receipt of some form of intervention linked to safeguarding.
