Howard League calls for ban on welfare orders for children on remand
Fiona Simpson
Thursday, May 5, 2022
The Howard League for Penal Reform has called for a ban on the use of custodial remand for children’s welfare.
"Prisons are not equipped to provide children with the support required," according to latest research by the organisation.
It adds that vulnerable children, including those who are care experienced and from racially minoritised backgrounds, who are remanded in custody are faced with a systematic “failure to protect them from exploitation”.
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The research briefing, called Voices and Lessons, shares the experiences of five young people, aged 16 to 18.
Abdul, 17, a mixed white and Asian child, was remanded in custody for his own welfare while awaiting trial.
He was a victim of trafficking who estimated that he had lived in 15 or 20 children’s homes.
He told the Howard League that his exploiters “had often threatened to hurt his family members if he did not do what they asked, and they were determined to punish him for having lost their drugs”.
“Abdul explained that his exploiters were giving orders to other children in the prison and he felt at even greater risk,” the report states.
It adds that the criminal justice system also demonstrates a lack of consideration around the impact of remand on children’s education and mental health.
Hassan, 16, a British Asian child, described prison as “traumatising”, adding that he had experienced “verbal abuse and discrimination, which he was struggling to cope with”.
Healthcare staff told the Howard League that Hassan was suffering from the impact of recent and historic trauma.
“One of his closest family members was terminally ill and he had experienced two sudden bereavements. The retraumatising prison environment had compounded these issues,” the report states.
The Howard League is calling for the Bail Act 1976 to be amended to remove the option of remanding a child to prison for their own welfare and for better guidance on remand decision-making for judges and magistrates.
“This should include active consideration of the impact on a child’s education and mental health,” according to the report.
Andrea Coomber, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “Custodial remand punishes children for the mistakes of the services around them and exposes them to abusive prison environments. It does untold damage to their mental health and prevents them from working towards their goals with support from professionals, as they could do on bail.”
The report comes four months after the Ministry of Justice published a review of custodial remand for children, which identified the critical importance of keeping its use to a minimum.
Coomber said ministers had “recognised that keeping the use of remand to a minimum is critically important”.
“The challenge now is to follow this with action. It requires not only a change in practice, but a change in culture, too,” she added.