Resources: Review - A report on life in a young offenderinstitution

The Howard League starts from a position that "incarcerating children is an essentially destructive act" but, accepting that some will continue to be held in prison, "stringent efforts must be made to mitigate its damaging effects". Hence the focus in these reports on four key principles: protection from harm; promotion of welfare and development; participation and involvement; and social reintegration and inclusion.

The Ashfield report may be two years old, but it is still valuable reading.

Ashfield Young Offender Institution is a private prison with a chequered history since its opening in 1999 and was subject to damning media coverage in 2003 following two "compliance failure" notices issued by the Youth Justice Board and the expressed intention by the board to start a "staged withdrawal". But following a more positive report by the Prisons Inspectorate early in 2004, Ashfield is now rebuilding its numbers with a significantly improved regime.