My PhD project is aiming to examine likelihood of entry to the prison system for individuals at high risk of poor criminal justice outcomes in our population. My project aims to examine differences in outcome for individuals presenting with risk factors understood to increase likelihood of entry to prison, whether they be from the general population, receiving care and support or whether they are looked after. By examining differences between groups where risk is high, rather than comparing looked after individuals to the general population as a whole, it should be possible to determine whether the social care system is having any positive effect. The project aims to determine whether decreases in youth crime over the last 10 years can be attributed to increases in numbers of children and young people entering the care system. If there is any evidence for this, this could have large impact on policy and future research.