The Ministry of Justice and Home Office seem to lack curiosity about the increase in the proportion of children from ethnic minority background in youth custody and appear to have no current plan to address the situation. While the number of children in youth custody across all ethnicities has reduced by 73% from 2010–11 to 2020–21, the proportion from ethnic minority backgrounds has increased (from 32% to 53%). Furthermore, a recent HMI Probation report found that young black children, aged 10–17, are 2.8 times more likely come to the attention of the youth justice system as would be expected given the proportion of black boys this age in the general population while the numbers of mixed heritage children in the youth justice population has doubled since 2010. These disproportionate outcomes have been highlighted in previous reviews dating back many years, but the Ministry of Justice and Home Office still cannot fully explain the disparity. The Ministry tells us that there are a range of complex “societal factors” at play, but acknowledges that some interventions may be introducing disparity, such as the police’s use of stop and search and decisions about whether to remand someone in custody ahead of their trial. It says it is working to improve the clarity of decisions about whether to remand someone in custody. However, overall neither the Ministry of Justice and Home Office have clear plans for how they will reduce the disparities in the proportion of ethnic minority children entering youth custody. 8 Support for vulnerable adolescents Recommendation: Ministry of Justice and Home Office should report back within six months on what they understand about ‘what works’, and what action they will take to understand why ethnic minority children make up over half of all children in custody. They should also set out how they will use the understanding to address the issues.