RegendansA total of 50 offenders aged 18-20 were handed life or indeterminate sentences in 2024, up from just 30 in 2014.
Many are facing punishments which are equal to or longer than their age, with 6 per cent of young adults in prison now serving life sentences, up from just 2 per cent a decade earlier.
Prison experts are calling for specialist support for young people facing life or decades in prison, warning many have a history of trauma, grew up in care or were excluded from schools.
A new report from the Prison Reform Trust’s National Lottery-funded Building Futures programme found long-term sentences have profound consequences for mental health, identity development and the ability to imagine a meaningful future.
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There are currently 10,324 young adults aged 18 to 24 held in prisons in England and Wales, accounting for 12 per cent of the prison population.
Although the overall young adult prison population has halved in the past 20 years, the proportion of young adults entering custody to serve life sentences has soared.
By December 2025, 6 per cent of those aged 18-20 years were serving life sentences, up from just 2 per cent in December 2015. A further 6 per cent were serving extended determinate sentences.
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