BBC News | UK | Children's prisons are 'sub-standard'

Children's prisons in the UK are failing to meet international standards, according to research.

Bullying, limited access to daylight or open air, lack of specialist training for staff and lack of individual care were among the main concerns.

The Howard League for Penal Reform, which examined two young offenders institutions, says the jails for 15 to 17-year-olds fail to meet standards laid out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Prisons are institutions designed for security rather than care

Charlotte Day, Howard League
The research found there had been some improvements in the range of activities open to prisoners at the institutions selected: Lancaster Farms, near Lancaster, and Castington in Northumberland.

But staff at the institutions had also raised many of the concerns outlined in the report.

Staff at Lancaster Farms were worried about night-time supervision, when just one member of the support staff was on duty.

The report says staff could be "critically" delayed if an inmate is found hanging because they do not hold keys to the cells and have to call a prison officer from the main prison.

The report adds: "Adolescents have a lot of energy which needs to be burned up or it may manifest itself in frustration and aggression."

Character 'unchanged'

The Howard League's Charlotte Day says children in prison may have committed crimes but they are still children.

"They should be entitled to the same level of care and protection provided for children in every other setting," she said.

"Prisons are institutions designed for security rather than care and the Howard League is concerned that they still fail to meet the needs of children."

The charity believes children should be removed from the prison system completely, despite improvements since the Youth Justice Board took over control of institutions for under-18s last year.

Ms Day said the "fundamental character of prison" was largely unchanged.

Concerns raised by the report included:

Lack of specialist training for staff to deal with young people or children who may be damaged or disturbed

Prison units too large to provide individual care

Limited access to daylight and open air which is likely to impact on the boys' mental and physical well-being

Difficulties controlling bullying, influenced by boredom, lack of supervision

Lack of preparation for release back into the community.

The problem of bullying at Castington Young Offenders' Institution, which holds up to 400 juveniles and young adults, was described as "widespread and insidious".

Fifty-five percent of inmates told Howard League investigators they had been involved in a bullying incident in the previous week.

Researchers also found some officers had a dismissive attitude to children who harm themselves - one referred to a boy who persistently cut himself as "Slasher".

The charity has long campaigned against the fact that children in prison are the only group of young people excluded from the protection of the 1989 Children Act.

The reports on the two institutions are the first in a series of reports the Howard League will be producing on conditions for children in prison.


		^^ Back to top News Front Page \| World \| UK \| UK Politics \| Business \| Sci/Tech \| Health \| Education \| Entertainment \| Talking Point \| In Depth \| AudioVideo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To BBC Sport>> \| To BBC Weather>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII\|News Sources\|Privacy