Youth custody conditions make 'tragedy inevitable', chief inspector warns

The annual report of HM Chief Inspector of Prisons reveals that of four young offender institutions (YOIs) inspected, only the two smallest were judged to be "reasonably safe". There had been increasing violence, and measures to address this had reduced time out of cells, so many boys served most of their sentence locked up.

"The current state of affairs is dangerous, counterproductive and will inevitably end in tragedy unless urgent corrective action is taken," the report states.

The report cites latest Youth Justice Board (YJB) statistics for 2015/16, which showed self-harm rates to be 8.9 incidents per 100 children compared with 4.1 in 2011 and assault rates at 18.9 per 100 children compared with 9.7 in 2011.

Meanwhile, a survey found that 46 per cent of boys felt unsafe at their establishment.

The report concludes that the overriding priority of government ministers and the Youth Justice Board (YJB) should be to make children's custody safe.

"In early 2017 I felt compelled to bring to the attention of ministers my serious concern about our findings in the youth estate," chief inspector of prisons Peter Clarke said.

"By February 2017, we concluded that there was not a single establishment that we inspected in England and Wales in which it was safe to hold children and young people.

"The speed of decline has been staggering. In 2013/14 we found that nine out of 12 institutions were graded as ‘good' or ‘reasonably good' for safety.

"The reasons for this slump in standards are no doubt complex, but need to be understood and addressed as a matter of urgency."

Clarke said there seems to be "something of a vicious circle" in terms of safety standards.

"Violence leads to a restrictive regime and security measures which in turn frustrate those being held there," he said.

"We have seen regimes where boys take every meal alone in their cell, where they are locked up for excessive amounts of time, where they do not get enough exercise, education or training, and where there do not appear to be any credible plans to break the cycle of violence."

Ali Wigzell, chair of the Standing Committee for Youth Justice said the chief inspector's finding that not a single prison is safe to hold children is a "damning indictment of the current system", describing the situation as a national scandal.

"The chief inspector has said that the situation will end in tragedy if nothing is done; we urge the government to take urgent action to tackle this crisis before it is too late," she said.
 
"Today's report confirms that YOIs and STCs are unsafe for children. As a matter of urgency, the government must implement its plans to increase resources in YOIs.

"Alongside, we urge the government to keep true to its endorsement of the Taylor Review's vision of abolishing YOIs and secure training centres (STCs) and publish its timetable for doing so immediately.

"A comprehensive plan for secure schools must now also be outlined, which learns the lessons from reports of existing institutions, particularly that YOIs and STCs are simply too large to hold children safely."

The report comes almost exactly a year after the Youth Justice Board raised concerns that the safety of children and young people in custody was "at risk".

In March 2016, then Justice Secretary Michael Gove said action would be taken to tackle gang problems and improve safety in youth jails, telling members of the justice select committee that he had been working with Charlie Taylor, who was conducting a review of the youth justice system, and Michael Spurr, the chief executive of the National Offender Management Service, to address issues in the youth secure estate.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: "The safety and welfare of every young person in custody is our absolute priority and we are clear that more needs to be done to achieve this.

"But we also want custody to improve the life chances of children in our care and to deliver improvements to education and health services within youth custody.

"That's why we have created a new Youth Custody Service, with an executive director for the first time in the department's history - to make sure this vital area is given the priority and weight it deserves.

"The new director will lead on reforms to the running of the youth estate, including boosting the number of frontline staff by 20 per cent - all of whom will be specially trained to work in the youth estate."