Last week, 33 juvenile prisoners on A wing at Stoke Heath Young Offender Institution refused to return to their cells, and caused what the Home Office described as "considerable damage" to the communal areas of the prison.
Steve Gough, vice-chair of the association, said the young people rioted "because they could". He added: "They know they can get away with it. Juveniles are running out of control."
As Young People Now went to press, the prison system was approaching operational capacity. Gough said although A wing wasn't overcrowded there are clear links between tensions in the prison system and the riot.
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