Legal News
New report finds reduced staffing at weekends may mean young offenders spend longer periods in isolation (27 October 2015)
Date: 27/10/2015
The Youth Justice Board (YJB) has responded to a report on the use of isolation in youth justice settings by stating that that isolation should primarily be used if a young person poses a risk to themselves or others.
The report Isolation and solitary confinement of children in the English youth justice secure estate by the Children’s Commissioner for England found that in most units, weekend regime and regime curtailment as a result of reduced staffing levels may lead to young offenders experiencing “prolonged isolation”.
The report states:
“During the weekends, boys spend no more than 7.5 hours out of cell, and during regime curtailment no more than 6.
“During these regimes, a boy has access to services if needed (e.g. healthcare, mental healthcare) but is confined to his cell for the best part of the day.
“Typically boys will go out for meal times (although in some YOIs most boys eat in their cells), association time in the evenings and any scheduled activities that they have that day, such as education.
“In some institutions, boys on Basic Incentive and Earned Privileges Status (IEP) also spend prolonged periods of time in isolation. They often have restricted access to activities and association. Boys can also elect to go into isolation, and in this case they will either remain in their cell or be placed in the Healthcare centre (if there are mental health issues that need to be addressed), where they will be monitored.”
The YJB responded to the report’s findings by saying:
“We recognise that young people in custody present complex challenges in behaviour management.
“The YJB continues to work with the National Offender Management Service to ensure improvements in youth offending institutions, to better address the needs of young people and reduce the use of isolation.
“We will carefully study the report’s findings as a contribution to our work to improve the current secure estate.”
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