A Freedom of Information (FoI) request by youth justice charity Article 39 found that a total of 557 allegations of abuse and neglect were made across six local authorities within youth custody establishments in their areas.
The revelation comes as recruitment of Youth Custody Service (YCS) staff has dropped for the first time since 2016, when the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) launched a campaign to boost prison officer numbers in the youth secure estate, latest government figures show.
However, since the end of 2018, “there have been no active recruitment campaigns for prison officers in YCS sites”, the MoJ says.
On 30 September 2019, 1,735 full-time members of staff were employed in the YCS, down from 1,759 in June 2019.
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