A groundbreaking BBC film explores the drugs and crime cycle from the point of view of the young offenders themselves.

Little Angels tells the story of Michelle Pickthall and Shaun Mann, just two of the many young offenders struggling to stay clean and go straight after their release from prison.

Young prisoners are often faced with similar dilemmas on their release.

Some young offender institutions have very good drug rehabilitation and education units. But often inmates are not in long enough to complete their programme and they are still vulnerable when released to fend for themselves.

Does the current system of youth detention and rehabilitation work, or is it simply a cycle of crime and drug abuse? Should more be done to help youth offenders and young addicts go straight on release? Or do they receive enough assistance as it is?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

Ultimately they have the choice

Dawn, UK

Before I met my current partner I once thought of myself as an educated person. I always did well at school and am currently at university hoping to gain a job within the professional sector of society. But nothing could prepare me for the world I entered when my partner had a relapse after being clean from heroin for many months. The man I am currently helping and supporting is not the man I met and fell in love with. Heroin is evil. I could relate to many issues raised in the programme little Angels. There is support out there, but I have come to terms with and realised that only the drug user can turn their life around. Ultimately they have the choice.
Dawn, UK

As a teacher in an inner city secondary school, I wish that the government would watch this type of programme and realise just what difficulties these young people are experiencing. In many cases, it is a miracle sometimes that they even manage to get up in a morning in time to attend school, let alone achieve government targets.
Val, UK

I really felt for all the people involved in this documentary

Amanda Harrison, UK

I cried buckets when this documentary finished. I don't know anybody personally who takes drugs, but I really felt for all the people involved in this documentary and for all the other youngsters, mothers, fathers, grandparents etc who have to deal with this issue.
Amanda Harrison, UK

Without doubt more should be done to help youth offenders and young addicts go straight on release AND any offender and addict regardless of their age. Addicts never recover they can only learn to live and accept that they are an addict without substance abuse.
Nicola, UK

What about the producers of this film coming to make a documentary which gives the other side to this total misrepresentation of Skelton? We the people of Skelton wish to present the everyday life of an East Cleveland village. We would also like to present the fact that East Cleveland police do not wish to attend most calls to drug related incidents in this area unless an arrest is to their benefit.
Richard, UK

He has now gone into rehab and will be there for a year

Tricia, UK

I have a friend who is a heroin and crack addict. I have tried to help him overcome his addiction for 6 years to no avail. I finally had to let him sort himself out when I lost my home, because there were people calling round for money which he owed them. He had been off drugs for a while, but when I questioned him about them using again, he denied it. He has now gone into rehab and will be there for a year, and I hope he succeeds this time, or in the end he will die. Unfortunately, I do not trust him anymore, so I will not tell him my new address, but I am still there to support him all the way, as he can contact me by telephone and that is the way it will be for a very long time to come.
Tricia, UK

Watching this programme was heartbreaking. If only school children could see this programme, then maybe they would think twice before taking these drugs. I really admire the bravery of the people in this programme and their honesty. Little Angels was excellent. What a scary and lonely world drugs addiction is, certainly one I would not want to visit.
Vickie Brown, England

My brother has been addicted to heroin for a few years now, and watching Little Angels last night was just like watching my brother's life . People don't understand anything about the substance until they have been through this. It's not just the addict that is affected, it affects the whole family and is a living hell. Thank you for showing this powerful piece of film, I hope it makes people think more help is needed.
Fiona Scotland, Scotland

I could relate to the mother

Jane Sawyer, Wales

I have just viewed the drama Little Angels. It is such a relief to be able to see a drama totally accurate and relevant to how such events affect individuals within families. I could relate to the mother, I still cannot stop crying. My son was released from prison in March, homeless, his choice. The council said that they couldn't offer him any accommodation other than b&b in a pub (he was sent to prison for alcohol related problems). They said that he would have to pay for the room. He now has an advocate from the organisation 'Shelter', but is still homeless. Sleeping on a friend's floor. But thank goodness he still has his job.
Jane Sawyer, Wales

That was a fantastic film - very moving. And it shows that until we can accept that addiction is an illness and needs to be treated as such this sort of problem is not going to go away...
James, UK

My thanks to the director of this powerful film

Nicola, UK

A year ago this month I lost my partner and my 5 year old lost his father to heroin. My thanks to the director of this powerful film. It surfaced many emotions. Watching Angela (Shaun's mother) was like watching myself.... so I wasn't crazy after all.
Nicola, UK

Clearly, any addiction is hard to break. Getting society to sit up and act positively in dealing with the deep social issues raised by addiction is vital if the cycle of deprivation, abuse, crime and imprisonment is to be broken. It was unfortunate then to see a programme purporting to tackle these important issues which in great part sought to manipulate the real life participants into shooting heroin, reconstructing suicide attempts and trying to make personal trauma into some kind of voyeuristic sensation. A wasted opportunity.
Grant, England

What a great programme. Why are there not more programmes like this out there?
Leon, London

Why oh why isn't this being shown in every school across the country? Let these youngsters see the truth.
Sharon Holmes, England

Sentences should comprise three distinct components, and the extent of each should be declared separately. There should be Recompense (where a criminal is made to work to compensate their victim(s) in full for any damage or loss inflicted), Retribution (where the criminal is punished for doing what they have done) and finally rehabilitation (where the criminal receives help, be it education or medical treatment, to rehabilitate them in to society). The rehabilitation sentence should be "fixed" in terms of its outcome, not its duration - hopefully avoiding part-treatment which is so problematic today. Perhaps when young criminals realise they are truly accountable for their actions we might see a reduction in the level of crime evident today
David, UK

I found that almost without exception custodial sentences were imposed too late

Barry P, England

In my 30 years experience of dealing with juvenile offenders I found that almost without exception custodial sentences were imposed too late in the crime career of the offender. The current idea of waiting until the offender has been dealt with by about a dozen different non-custodial regimes only bolsters the self esteem of the criminal.
Barry P, England

As a society we continue to send mixed messages to everyone, especially the young. On the one hand we say drugs are bad, we then have a 'liberal' experiment where we do not arrest people. Then we introduce another system where some people get arrested and others don't. Children and young people will test boundaries that is what growing up involves and many people have minor brushes with the law. The trick is to manage those situations so that the person goes onto becomes a responsible person.
Chris, UK

Sentences are not long enough to either rehabilitate or offer a deterrent. They put young people inside just long enough to acquire new criminal skills and meet new criminal associates.
Helen, UK

Young people who are convicted of a crime which involves drugs or alcohol in any way should be put straight into a rehabilitation programme. But as soon as anyone suggests that, we get the 'civil liberties' mob saying that it's unfair to sentence a burglar to 2 years in prison when the law says they should only get a few months, or probation. We need a change in the law that will give judges the option to impose longer custodial sentences for drug rehabilitation.
David, UK

As far as prison and related support is concerned we all know the reality!

Eileen, UK

As a single parent for the last 20-odd years I have fought tooth and nail to keep my children out of trouble. In terms of help, it does not exist. When I am facing an angry teenager who is much bigger than me, it can be very scary. When I ask him to leave the house until the situation calms down, it is my home that gets broken up. I try and try not to just give up as many parents do, thus imposing the problem on society. As far as prison and related support is concerned we all know the reality! We face it every time another crime is committed. I know - I've been burgled 14 times.
Eileen, UK

Reading this Talking Point, it could be asked of children in the USA as well. My son spent a year in prison, and when he was released, there were really no services available to him as his length of stay was not long enough, nor was he eligible for anything while he was incarcerated, as most programmes are geared for inmates that have a stay of 13 months or longer. My son was lucky; he had the support of family behind him. I hate to think what his life would be like if we didn't stick with him... a lot of parents tend to just give up.
Dawn, USA