It costs more per year to keep someone aged 15-17 in a young offenders& #39; institution than it would to send them to Eton.

After a decade of austerity, the literal wording of the slogan & #39;defund the police& #39; doesn& #39;t have quite the same salience as it does in the United States. But look at where we spend vast sums of money: on late intervention, rather than education, housing, and mental health care.

England & Wales has dire reoffending rates (40% in 12 months, 75% in 9 years). Prison isn& #39;t working. But we don& #39;t want to explore alternatives, in case in demonstrates that & #39;something for nothing& #39; is actually better at managing social problems than punishing their existence.

These issues, by the way, are inseparable from the children& #39;s social care system.

Fewer than 1% of under 18s enter the local authority care system, but care leavers account for around a quarter of the adult prison population, and half of those in youth custody.

What kind of support could well-funded social services provide to families *before* a care order is needed? How can the state address the conditions (bad housing, deprivation, precarious employment) which contribute to family breakdown? How can the care system itself be improved?