Now, exclusive research carried out for Community Care as part of our 'Back on Track' campaign has found that this group are also bearing the brunt of the population pressures in prisons and are being moved from jail to jail, being forced to spend their usually short sentences in a variety of establishments.
Not only is this disruptive and distressing for this vulnerable group, but it has a knock on effect on their education and mental health, and the distance they are held from their home.
In its first term in office, the government focussed heavily on children who offend and injected cash and resources into the juvenile estate. This has resulted in the creation of the Youth Justice Board, the establishment of youth offending teams to work with young people, and a focus on community alternatives to prison.
However, this emphasis on the under-18s has only served to highlight the awful conditions the 18-20 year old “young adult offenders”, who are too old to benefit from the Youth Justice Board’s reforms, are subjected to.
Statistics
On 8 October there were 8,152 young adult offenders in prisons in England and Wales, around one in five were on remand. However, this is just a snapshot and does not show the true extent of the total number of 18-to-20-year-olds who enter prison in a year as many just spend a few months in jail.
In 2002, 16,230 young adults were received into prison on remand awaiting trial or convicted awaiting sentence. More than a quarter were sentenced to three months or less, and more than half were sentenced to six months or less. Over 80 per cent were sentenced for non-violent offences.
Overcrowding
At the end of July this year there were 47 prisons holding five or more young people and figures from the following month found that more than half were overcrowded. Six of the designated YOIs were also overcrowded.
“Population pressures have forced establishments holding young adults to take emergency action to accommodate the increase in numbers,” said the report. “This has often meant that single cells designed for one person have been fitted with bunk beds to contain two prisoners in a process described by prison staff as ‘doubling up’.”
Thirty out of 47 establishments holding young adults had them “doubling up”. In the cells that did not have decency screens, young people were forced to use the toilet in front of each other and eat their meals in the same cell. Some had to use the wash basin to clean their plates.
The Churn
| CC's Mark Ivory promoting research on Sky |
Our research finds that, during their often short stays in custody, the 18-20 year olds were also moved on to several establishments creating a “churn”. As new prisoners arrived from courts, offenders were shipped out quickly to another less crowded establishment – but one which could be miles away.
Even Home Office minister Paul Goggins acknowledged in May this year that it was not the numbers in prisons that was a real challenge but the movement around the system.
The PRT questioned Independent Monitoring Boards on behalf of Community Care about their fears for the 18-to-20-year-olds and half the boards highlighted the movement of young people and the problems it caused.
“The continuing high turnover of inmates continues to cause concern with trainees unable to complete their courses,” said the IMB at Feltham, west London. “Prisoners are transferred to other establishments as far afield as Castington [Northumberland].”
The IMB at Reading added that often inmates were moved when they were at a “crucial” stage in their education but that nothing could be done to stop the move.
The report warns that when young offenders are moved to an establishment that cannot meet their needs, they can be locked in their cells for hours, with potentially “serious consequences”.
“There were a few instances of young offenders who, once sentenced, became so depressed at the prospect of being locked up for so long that they self-harmed and refused food,” reported the IMB at High Down.
The PRT also questioned focus groups of young offenders. Two thirds said they had spent time in another prison. They reported frustrations at being moved to a prison that did not run a course they had been half-way through and concerns about moving to a new establishment where they did not know the staff or inmates.
“Bleak picture”
Juliet Lyon, director of the PRT said the report presented a “bleak picture”.
“Despite some pockets of good practice, thousands of young prisoners face high levels of movement from jail to jail, impoverished regimes and inadequate preparation for release.
“Small wonder perhaps that three quarters are reconvicted within two years of leaving prison,” she added.
Although the Youth Justice Board has a target to reduce the number of children in custody who are held long distances from their home town, the Prison Service does not. As a result in July this year more than a third were held more than 50 miles away from home, just under a quarter were held between 50 and 100 miles, and one in 10 was held over 100 miles away.
Two thirds of young adults in our research said they had been moved to a prison which made it more difficult to keep in touch with their families.
Home Office “refutes” allegations
A Home Office spokesperson acknowledged that population pressures could impact on offending behaviour work and the distance offenders were held from home. “However the Prison Service is committed to helping maintaining family ties as a key factor in its resettlement strategy and the government is taking action to ensure courts have robust alternatives to custody,” she added.
The spokesperson “refuted” allegations that the Home Office was failing to meet the needs of young offenders and said the Prison Service was “working hard” to prepare offenders to lead law abiding lives.
She also stressed that funding for education in YOIs had been increased and that this had enabled the Prison Service to appoint senior heads of learning and skills, responsible for raising standards and improving continuity.
But Lyon argued: “A manifesto commitment was given in 2001 to build on the youth justice reforms to improve things for 18-to-20 year-olds. This report reveals the social and economic costs of a broken promise.
“Importantly, it sets out an agenda for change and points the way to reserving prison for those sentenced or remanded for serious and violent offences,” she added.
Agenda for change
The report calls for:-
• Increased investment in provision for young adults in
the criminal justice system
• The promotion of alternatives to custody for
18-to-20-year-olds
• An end to the use of custodial remand for young adults who
commit non-violent offences
• A review of provision to develop an informed strategy for
young adult offenders
• Increased provision in diversion schemes for young adults
with serious mental health problems
• The development of small custodial units as close to home
as possible for 18-to-20-year-olds who present a genuine threat to
public safety
• The appointment of a director of young prisoners with
overall accountability and responsibility for the young adult
estate to be appointed
“Young adults in custody should be a high priority for government,” says the report. “They are a prolific offending group who have a strong likelihood of becoming long-term adult offenders.
“Their time in prison is critical if they are to be turned away from a life of crime,” it concludes.
* This research was produced for our ‘Back on track’ campaign. For further information got to www.communitycare.co.uk/backontrack
‘A lost generation: the experiences of young people in prison’ from 020 7251 5070
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