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Youth custody system ‘setting children up to fail’

2 mins read Youth Justice
The youth custody system is “setting children up to fail”, according to a report based on the experiences of young people.
Young people have called for improved education in youth custody settings. Picture: Adobe Stock
Young people have called for improved education in youth custody settings. Picture: Adobe Stock

The first report from the Young Advocates Project, which has been co-produced by children and young people aged 14 to 20 with first-hand experience of the youth justice system, finds that racism and abuse in jails are major issues while the youth secure estate “does not consistently treat children as children or reflect the ‘child first’ principle”.

Education for children in custody needs to be improved and an independent complaints system must be set up to improve outcomes for young people in youth custody, the report states.

A series of recommendations from young people as part of the report include calls for harsher consequences for staff that harm children in custody and the prioritisation of staff training on de-escalation and rehabilitation over restraint and punishment. 

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