Over the last year nearly one in six children said they felt unsafe in secure settings, more than twice the proportion the previous year when one in 14 children were concerned about their safety.
Nine in 10 report being victimised by other children and just under three quarters said they had been targeted in this way by staff.
Half said they have been physically assaulted and nearly a quarter said they had been forced to assault other young people.
The survey's findings have been revealed by HM Inspectorate of Prisons, which concludes that those who feel unsafe “experienced far worse outcomes in almost every aspect of daily life” while incarcerated.
This proportion of children feeling unsafe is the highest recorded since 2017 by the inspectorate, which found that just one YOI, Parc in Bridgend, Wales, is considered to be a “safe” place.
The inspectorate warns that the youth secure estate is trapped in a “vicious cycle” where “regular violence and disorder” is keeping children in cells for longer with minimal exercise and access to education. This then fuels “frustration and further disorder”.
“In the worst cases some children spent more than 22 hours a day locked up,” the inspectorate found.
This situation is impacting staff retention and morale, it adds, with more than half reporting this is “low or very low” where they work.
One staff member at Cookham Wood YOI, which is being closed down and repurposed as an adult prison, described this setting as “a really volatile place”.
“There are several weapons found near enough each day,” they said.
“Staff assaults happen often as well. The staff morale is so low and it makes it hard to engage with each other and the boys. It is not a safe place. Understandably it is a prison but we shouldn’t fear coming into work.”
Another, at Werrington YOI added: “Many staff do not feel confident in challenging behaviour due to the threat of assault. Behaviour policies are inconsistently followed. It does not feel like a safe environment to work in.”
The inspectorate’s report on the views of children in custody and staff coincides with the publication of a separate report into progress at Feltham A.
“Patterns of conflict, violence and staff shortage are echoed” in its report into this YOI, said the inspectorate.
Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said: “These reports are stark reminders of the scale of the problems in youth custody.
“What should be an opportunity for children, many of whom have lived chaotic lives, to make up for lost time by gaining qualifications and addressing the underlying causes of their offending. None of this is possible while a child is locked behind a cell door.
“Leaders in the youth custody service must focus on getting the basics right, prioritising a consistent and motivational approach to behaviour management and giving staff enough time and support to build effective relationships with the children in their care.”
The inspectorate’s findings highlight that custody “is profoundly harmful” for children, says Campbell Robb, chief executive of justice organisation Nacro.
“The fact that more children than ever feel unsafe in custody is a clear reflection of a broken system in which instability and fear have become the norm,” he said.
Howard League for Penal Reform chief executive Andrea Coomber added: “All children need exercise, education and contact with other people if they are to progress and live healthily as adults.
“Instead, children in custody are being let down, by every measure, in a youth estate marred by violence and disarray.”
