Full YOI inspections resume
Fiona Simpson
Friday, May 21, 2021
HM Inspectorate of Prisons has resumed full inspections of young offender institutes following a 14-month suspension, the chief inspector of prisons has said.
Charlie Taylor announced that inspections began on 10 May after being paused last March due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Throughout the pandemic, HMI Prisons teams have been carrying out short scrutiny visits on settings to ensure good treatment of young offenders.
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In the return to full inspections scores against the inspectorate’s four healthy prison tests (safety, respect/care, purposeful activity and rehabilitation, and release planning) will be reintroduced.
Inspections, carried out by a team of inspectors and researchers, will last two to three weeks and include full surveys of young offenders.
However, unlike before the pandemic, YOIs will be notified of the inspection on the Friday before it begins.
“We will return to unannounced inspections as soon as it is safe to do so,” the inspectorate has said.
Taylor added: “I am enormously proud of the dedication of the Inspectorate, who have been in the field since early in the pandemic knowing that independent scrutiny is always essential for closed institutions. I am delighted that we are now able to return to our full scored inspection programme.”