THE latest figures show an 88 per cent drop in the number of youngsters in Dorset entering the criminal justice system.

The Ministry of Justice statistics for the county council area show that in the 2006/07 financial year, 761 children aged between 10 and 17 were convicted or cautioned by police for the first time, but by 2016/17 there were just 93.

The MoJ also calculates a rate of first time offenders to allow comparison between different police forces and local authorities.

In Dorset, police cautioned or convicted 257 children for every 100,000 in the area, less than the England and Wales average of 312.

The drop has been attributed to changes in police policy and an overall fall in crime by the MoJ.

A 2016 report on first-time entrants by the department stated: "In 2002, a target was introduced to increase the number and reduce the gap between the numbers of crimes recorded by the police and those for which a perpetrator is identified.

"There is some evidence that, in order to meet this target, the police focused their attention on young people who had committed non-serious offences, as they can be easier than adults to apprehend."