Young prisoners ‘failed for a decade' over rehabilitation and reoffending, Charlie Taylor warns
Fiona Simpson
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
The prison service has failed for more than a decade to deal effectively with young adult prisoners, HM chief inspector of prisons has warned.
In a damning new thematic report Charlie Taylor states that outcomes would remain poor for young adults aged under 25 unless HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) urgently addressed its “haphazard” approach to more than 15,000 young adult prisoners.
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In his report, Taylor warns that the current approach taken by HMPPS to place most young prisoners in adult prisons with much older inmates misses opportunities to help under-25s rehabilitate and puts society at risk of repeat reoffending.
The prison service has “little understanding of the way young men in their early 20s mature”, the report states, raising particular concern over the treatment of young black men in adult prisons.
Taylor cites comments made in a report published in 2006 about young adults by the former chief inspector, Anne Owers, who warned: “What will not work is simply to decant young adults into the mainstream adult prison population. That will not provide environments that meet standards of safety and decency – or, crucially, that are able to make a real difference to reducing reoffending among this age group.”
Taylor says in his report: “It is disappointing that this warning was ignored, and we now have a system where nearly all young adults have simply been placed into mainstream establishments, which have neither the resources nor the interventions to meet their needs.”
The report notes: “Young adults were placed haphazardly in a range of different types of establishment without considering their needs.”
It also cites evidence that maturity in young adults is a slow process and may not be achieved until a person’s mid- to late-20s meaning young prisoners are likely to be more unhappy in custody and have a worse relationship with staff compared with their older peers.
Taylor adds: “In general, the outcomes are poor for young adults when compared with those for older prisoners (those aged over 25). Young adults have worse relationships with staff, are less likely to be motivated by the behaviour management schemes and are far more likely to be involved in violent incidents. They are also more likely to face adjudications (prison discipline processes), to be placed on the basic regime and to self-harm.
“They report more negatively on day-to-day life, including relationships with staff, the quality of the food and the cleanliness of their wing. In addition, young adults have worse attendance at education and work. Black and minority ethnic prisoners are significantly over-represented in the young adult prison population, and the perceptions of treatment among this group are particularly poor.”
The chief inspector of prisons states that custody should be an opportunity to provide young people with structure, meaningful activity and opportunities to address their offending behaviour.
“However, in HMI Prisons’ prisoner surveys less than half of young adults (46 per cent) reported that their experience in their current prison had made them less likely to offend in the future. This missed opportunity to help young adult prisoners to improve their skills and reduce reoffending rates has consequences for society when they are released,” the report adds.
It finds that where young adults were well-supported it was usually as a result of enthusiastic work by individual members of staff, however, Taylor states: “There is a lack of a coherent response at the national level. There is no explanation for the current configuration of the (prison) estate, with only three dedicated young adult establishments for a population of over 15,000, no rationale for placing the majority of young adults in establishments that predominantly hold older prisoners and no evidence that placement decisions are made on the basis of need.”
The report identifies a need for “specific, properly resourced young adult provision”, praising Hydebank Wood Secure College, which caters for prisoners up to 25 in Northern Ireland, as an example of what might be achieved.
As the prison service plans for recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, Taylor states, there is both an opportunity and an urgent need to develop specific policies and services for this group.
“If action is not taken, outcomes for this group and society will remain poor for the next decade and beyond,” he adds.