Thousands more violent offenders will be created by ministers’ failure to get children back to school after the pandemic, analysis has suggested.
A generation of “ghost children” who have given up on school since Covid are at risk of turning to crime because of official neglect of their futures, experts have warned.
Up to 9,000 more young offenders, including 2,000 violent criminals, could be on Britain’s streets by 2027 because of a rise in school absence, according to calculations based on official studies.
The surge in offending would cost taxpayers £100 million, according to campaigners, who say the government needs to step in now to save money as well as turning around children’s lives.
