Young offenders institutes are ‘modern day dungeons’
By Liz Stephens
A damning audit of young offenders’ institutes (YOI’s) has revealed “extraordinary squalor and institutional brutality”.
The audit, which was carried out by the Howard League for Penal Reform for a recent court case, deemed many institutions “seriously unsafe”.
It found in many places, children are regularly denied access to showers, toilets and outside exercise areas and are subject to strip searches by adult staff.
Many institutions were failing to properly implement legally required assessments, plans and reviews.
Frances Crook, director of the Howard League said: “We keep children smelly and dirty, idle and frightened, bored with education and cooped up in modern day dungeons. And we expect them miraculously to pupate into responsible citizens.
“In reality, these young people leave prison more damaged and more dangerous than when they first went in. It is frankly shocking that we treat children in this way in the 21st century.”
Some of the conditions the audit highlights include:
- Brinsford prison, where 40 per cent of black and ethnic minority children reported being victimised by staff
- Castington prison, where seven young people confirmed wrist fractures during use of force incidents in two years and only 50 per cent of staff had been checked by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)
- Huntercombe prison, where cameras used in shower areas were found to not be enhancing supervision of the showers and only four per cent of young people said they were able to go outside to exercise every day
Young people reported being forcibly strip-searched and one in three girls and one in 20 boys in prison report sexual abuse.
Liberal Democrat justice spokesman David Howarth said: “This government’s obsession with looking tough has led to record numbers of children being put behind bars.
“This report makes it clear that many children at young offenders’ institutions face conditions that would put the developing world to shame.
“A country that subjects its young people to conditions of degradation and squalor has forfeited the right to call itself civilised.”
The Howard League warned that conditions could worsen if public spending was cut and called for a rethink of custodial sentencing for young people.
There are currently 2,548 children in prison in England.
