U-turn on plans to send young people to adult jails
Neil Puffett
Thursday, February 6, 2014
The government has shelved controversial plans to send young people to adult jails, it has been announced.
Under proposals unveiled last November, any young person aged over 18 sentenced to custody, including those who turn 18 while in youth custody, would be sent to an adult jail.
But the government has halted the plans after a consultation found intense opposition from charities, pressure groups and even the Youth Justice Board (YJB).
Fears were raised that the move could trigger an increase in self-harm among young people as well as leaving them exposed to bullying and drug dealing.
The government has said it will now hold off from taking a decision on the proposals until the findings of a newly ordered review into self-inflicted deaths of 18- to 24-year-olds in custody are published.
The review, being conducted by the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAP), is due to report by spring 2015.
“We will consider the responses to the consultation alongside the outcome of the review process, and will issue the government response to the consultation having taken into account the responses and the recommendations from the IAP’s review,” Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said in a written ministerial statement.
“We will continue to make improvements to relevant operational practice as regards the current young adult estate, such as bolstering the system for young people transitioning from the youth to young adult estate,” he added.
The decision not to go ahead with plans to send young people to adult jails represents something of a U-turn for the government.
Announcing the proposals last year, the Ministry of Justice said the current system was “no longer appropriate or effective”, adding that the shake-up would allow young people to get better resettlement support.
Critics argued that it was purely a money-saving exercise that would place young people in danger.
The announcement that an independent review into the self-inflicted deaths of 18- to 24-year-olds in custody will be held follows a long-term campaign led by the charity Inquest, which supports families of young people who have died in custody.
Grayling said that the government is committed to the safety of offenders and reducing the numbers of deaths in custody.
The ministerial statement added: “Although there are already comprehensive investigations into individual deaths we recognise there is benefit at this time in collating lessons that may be system-wide.
“The purpose of the review will be to make recommendations for reducing the risk of future deaths in custody.”
The review, which will focus solely on 18- to 24-year-olds, will be led by Lord Harris of Haringey, chair of the IAP.
Grayling said the YJB will soon be publishing a report setting out action taken and lessons learned in respect of deaths in custody in the under-18 secure estate.
In the past 10 years, 163 children and young people under the age of 24 have died in prison.
