Dealing with violence in YOIs
Derren Hayes
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
A youth work programme could provide the solution for tackling high levels of violence in youth custody.
The chief inspector of prisons' annual report 2016/17 made for worrying reading about conditions in youth custody and in particular standards of safety. Drawn from findings of inspections of four young offender institutions (YOI) over the year, the annual report highlighted concerns over rising levels of violence in establishments, young people spending more time locked up in cells and fewer opportunities to exercise and learn.
The report also cited Youth Justice Board (YJB) statistics that showed a rise in self-harm and assault incidents between 2011 and 2016 - up from 4.1 to 8.9 per 100 children, and from 9.7 to 18.9 per 100 children respectively.
Chief inspector of prisons Peter Clarke warned that the state of youth custody is so dangerous, "tragedy is inevitable" unless action is taken. He said: "We concluded that there was not a single establishment that we inspected in England and Wales in which it was safe to hold children and young people.
"The reasons for this slump in standards are no doubt complex, but need to be understood and addressed as a matter of urgency."
Since the report was published, the YJB has confirmed that a child died in custody earlier this year - the first death of an under-18 in the youth secure estate since 2015.
But in July, an HMIP and Ofsted inspection of HM YOI Werrington in Stoke-on-Trent was more positive. It found outcomes for children and young people were "reasonably good" for safety, respect and meaningful activity, while resettlement work was rated "good".
Inspectors particularly praised the YOI's bullying and violence reduction programmes, and drama groups delivered by youth work provider Kinetic Youth. It says these enabled boys to increase their understanding of the issue of violence (see inside view).
The report also praised how prison staff, Kinetic Youth and education provider Novus work together to ensure boys had a "well-planned curriculum".
Inspectors said Kinetic Youth's outreach work on the YOI's wings was "a very effective short-term alternative for boys unable to participate fully in education and skills". The youth work provider was also helping to develop the boys' personal skills, including team working.
The report states: "Kinetic Youth workers delivered sessions in which boys made strides in developing their personal skills, including team working. They quickly learnt to value each other's views and experiences. For example, discussions on gambling enabled them to acquire a more realistic appreciation of the impact of placing bets."
With the number of young people in custody rising - May's figures saw the total reach the highest level since 2015 - crime reduction charity Nacro has called for greater emphasis on improving conditions and helping build young people's resilience to violence.
Jacob Tas, Nacro chief executive, says: "Effective resettlement supports a shift in a young person's personal identity which moves towards an eventual point where offending has ceased and the young person has a more future-oriented and positive sense of self.
"Activities to achieve this include mental health support and therapy to deal with trauma, education and careers-focused learning to help young people identify and work towards their aspirations.
"We cannot afford to wait for an ‘inevitable tragedy' before action is taken. Sharing of expertise, joint working and partnership with government and organisations across the sector must start now."
INSIDE VIEW: ESTHER HORNER, DIRECTOR, KINETIC YOUTH
"We have been working with prison service partners and Novus, the formal education provider, at Werrington YOI since 2014.
Kinetic provides a range of engagement opportunities to empower young people, enabling them to access the services available to them during their time in custody and post-release, and to provide young people with opportunities to build the skills and confidence they need.
The Kinetic Youth workers deliver activities using a range of methodologies including enrichment support, Young People's Council, youth forums, induction, specialist youth clubs, release on temporary licence, mentoring projects, and bullying and violence reduction schemes. All feed into one another, increasing the overall effectiveness of delivery and outcomes.
Dan Rochester and Toni Brettell manage the Kinetic team at the YOI. Both managers have built strong and effective relationships with partners and young people to enable positive, outcome-based youth work to occur.
Brettell says services are ‘complementary' to what exists and young people say the interactions with youth workers have ‘improved their expectations of what they can achieve pre- and post-release'.
We are working with Project Oracle to ensure it provides solid impact data in the work we deliver. This is recorded by session, monthly and annually using validated evaluation tools.
The success of our delivery at Werrington has been down to effective communication, between all partners and stakeholders, especially between young people and staff. We have enabled young people to identify what barriers they had in place which were stopping them from engaging."