Youth prisons were ‘unconscionable’ and the result of a ‘legacy of failure’, according to the Howard League responding to a report from the prison watchdog on the widespread use of separation of children in young offender institutions (YOIs).
The average YOI holds 440 underage offenders and separation is frequently used as a punishment technique or self-imposed by those fearing violence. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of children said they had experienced separation, according to the report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons. The highest rate (76%) was found at Cookham Wood—a prison which, after facing criticism over its treatment of young inmates, is due to be repurposed as an adult facility.
Separation techniques frequently amounted to solitary confinement. Most separated children spent less than an hour a day in the open air—at many institutions half that time was delivered. The effects on their rehabilitation can be deleterious: separated children do not receive ‘anywhere near’ the 15 weekly hours of education they are entitled to under statute. At Cookham Wood, 37 children who had been confined received on average fewer than three minutes of education a day.
Andrea Coomber KC, chief executive of the Howard League, said: ‘All children need exercise, education and contact with other people if they are to grow, progress and live healthily as adults. But children in prison are being failed, time and time again.’
In 2020, a report uncovered ‘shocking’ findings about the use of confinement in YOIs. Four years later, there has been little progress: the 2024 report calls it ‘depressing that…almost all…failings continue’. Coomber also commented on the lack of effective reform after the exposure of the ‘scandal’ in YOIs: ‘it is unconscionable that children are still being locked up for hours on end and being denied the care and support they need. Rather than supporting children to thrive, the system is instead inflicting significant harm on them. This is yet further evidence that prison is no place for a child.’
Amidst mixed reactions to the new government’s prison reform plans, the Howard League expresses hope ‘that the new government will address this legacy of failure and take meaningful steps to ensure that children are kept safe and helped to succeed in more appropriate settings.’
