News

By Angela Neustatter
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
ISBN 0 903319 88 8
£8.95   

Written by the journalist Angela Neustatter, this book does exactly what it says on the cover - it relays "the experience of young people out of society and in prison". Neustatter begins with the observation that "we lock up more young people than any other country in Europe". Through interviews with prison governors and officers, youth offending teams and young people themselves, she then outlines the consequences of this shameful act.

The book couples up-to-date information about the system including relevant legislation and the nature of different parts of the "secure estate" for children and young people with the personal stories of those involved in it. Reference is made to the experiences of, for example, ethnic minorities, young women and young people on remand and alternatives to imprisonment are explored.

As I write this review, news has just broken that the number of young people sentenced to custody has increased yet again, a rise attributed to the recently introduced detention and training orders. Locked In, Locked Out is therefore a timely and welcome overview of the reasons this policy should be exposed for the monumental error, not to say act of cruelty that it is.

David Porteous is lecturer and research fellow, University of Luton.