“If this were my child, what level of care would I expect and hope for?” - Dr Anne-Marie Day
During the pandemic the public and politicians were – quite rightly – concerned about the long-term impact on children. Much less – virtually nothing – was written about children locked up in custody.
Before I discuss children’s experiences in custody, I think we need to position ourselves as parents/ older siblings/ carers, and ask ourselves:
‘If this were my child, what level of care would I expect and hope for?’
For me, this HAS to (and should be) the starting point for anyone working in this field. We often lose sight of the fact that children in custody are children. The Youth Justice System in England and Wales, with its adult-based Young Offender’s Institutions and focus on risk-managing children, demands that we firstly look at what they have done wrong – and custody – is the most serious form of punishment for these acts.
So as a parent, what would I expect, and hope would happen to my child if they were sentenced to custody? I would hope that they would firstly get the help they need. When a child goes to custody, they are often at crisis point – typically needing help with their mental and physical health; substance or alcohol use; re-engaging in education or employment; rebuilding family relationships etc etc. You would therefore hope that they would be placed in a secure, therapeutic environment, near to their home area where they could receive this help. You would want to be able to visit them regularly, and call them whenever was necessary to make sure they were OK. You would hope that the professionals working with your child would be trained professionals in safeguarding, health, education, social care, youth justice and youth work, with many years of experience of working successfully with other children. You would hope that they would be able to continue their education, or re-start their education, based on their own dreams and aspirations. If your child had unmet educational and health needs, finally, you would hope that they would be able to access the necessary assessments to ensure that plans were put in place to meet their needs.
You would expect that your child would be treated equitably and fairly, that they would not come to further harm or abuse, and that they would feel safe.
I was asked to write this blog based on children’s experiences in custody and how I see the future direction of secure care in England and Wales. The vision that I have for children in custody is based on what any parent or carer would expect and hope for, and some of the details are outlined above.
Sadly, the reality is not only far from this, but also in stark contrast. The youth custodial estate in England and Wales is currently made up of Young Offender Institutions (YOIs), Secure Training Centres and Secure Children’s Homes. The vast majority of children are housed in YOIs (normally around 70%) – they typically resemble an adult prison, staffed in the main by prison officers. There is just one Secure Training Centre remaining – Oakhill – which was put on ‘urgent notice’ by the Ministry of Justice late 2021 following concerns about abuse, neglect, and the unnecessary use of force against children by staff. Two other Secure Training Centres (Rainsbrook and Medway) were closed in recent years following similar concerns. However, following the recent prediction that custody numbers will double in the next few years, the Ministry of Justice is considering re-opening Rainsbrook (National Audit Office, 2022). All STCs were run by private security companies, often by staff with limited experience of working with children. Finally, we have Secure Children’s Homes. Run by the Local Authority and staffed by teachers, youth workers, social workers, they fit most closely to the vision I describe at the start of this blog. However, due to the relatively high cost of this provision, it tends to only be offered to the most ‘vulnerable’ and younger children.
What are children’s own experiences of custody? I was fortunate to interview 48 children in custody in the 12 months before lockdown in March 2020. The findings of the research (based on YOIs and STCs) concluded that children must adopt survival strategies to get through their time in custody (Day, 2021). I saw marks and scars on children from being restrained; heard stories of widespread bullying and violence; listened to Black, Asian and mixed-race boys tell me that they feel they are ‘bottom of the pile’ and treated like ‘dogs’ compared with their white peers. The behaviour management regime (the Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme) caused particular frustration for all the children. If you behave in custody, you receive extra privileges such as more visits and time out of your cell. If you do not behave, you lose privileges and often spend as much as 23 hours per day in solitary confinement. You may read this and think ‘Good – they need to learn consequences’. We just need to step back and think about this. Most children when they go into custody are at crisis point. 33% have been in care (YJB, 2017); 33% have poor mental health (YJB, 2017), up to 90% have a communication disorder (Hughes and Peirse-O’Byrne, 2016) – these kids need help and are likely to display some challenging behaviours when in custody. Many of the boys I interviewed had ADHD/ suspected ADHD or another neurodivergent condition and were being placed in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. I heard many, many stories of how this seriously impacted their mental health, leading to suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and violent behaviours as a result of their frustrations. This led to further punishment and being trapped in a cycle of continuous punishment and harm.
During the pandemic, recent research by the AYJ and Manchester Metropolitan University (Jump et al, 2022) revealed that many of the problems, above, were exacerbated, with children in YOIs reporting that they experienced long periods of isolation, no face-to-face contact with family and friends, and limited education and physical activities outside of their cell. This was compared with Secure Children’s Homes who managed to retain ‘an almost normal routine’.
It is safe to say that the current system is harmful and abusive, indeed many established academics in this field have been saying this for many years (Goldson, 2009; Gooch, 2015).
The Government have offered Secure Schools as a solution to this problem. I am not convinced. They bare many resemblances to the initial vision of Secure Training Centres in the 1980s – and we know what happened there. Indeed, the first Secure School is being built on the same site as Medway STC.
What would I suggest as a solution? Firstly, let’s close all YOIs. Secondly, let’s write the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into UK legislation and only send children to custody as a last resort and for the minimum amount of time (SCYJ, 2020). This legislative power should lead to less children going to custody and being given the support they need in the community by our wonderfully skilled and experienced youth offending teams. The cost-saving that this brings should then be funnelled into housing all remaining children in Secure Children’s Homes, placed ideally within their own Local Authority boundary or as close to this as possible. It honestly does not sound like rocket science to me and would fit with the very basic standards of care that I would expect for any child.
References
Day, A-M (2021), "The experiences of children in custody: a story of survival", Safer Communities, Vol 20, No. 3, p159 - 171 https://doi.org/10.1108/SC-11-2020-0040
Goldson, B. (2009) ‘Child incarceration: Institutionalised abuse, the violent state and the politics of impunity’ In P. Scraton & J. McCulloch (Eds.), The violence of incarceration (86 – 106). London: Routledge.
Gooch, K (2015) ‘Who needs restraining? Re-examining the use of physical restraint in an English young offender institution’, in Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 37:1, 3-20, DOI: 10.1080/09649069.2015.997999
Hughes, N & Peirse-O'Byrne, K 2016, 'Disabled Inside: Neurodevelopmental impairments among young people in custody', Prison Service Journal. https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/PSJ%20226%20July%202016.pdf
Jump, D; Smithson, H and Nisbett, A (2022) ‘The Youth Justice System’s Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Impact in a Secure Children’s Home’, Research Paper 8, Manchester Metropolitan University.
National Audit Office (2022) ‘Children in Custody: Secure Training Centres and Secure Schools’, Session 2021-22, HC 1257, Ministry of Justice and HMPPS.
The Standing Committee for Youth Justice (2020) ‘Ensuring Custody is the Last Resort for Children in England and Wales’, London: SCYJ
Youth Justice Board (2017) ‘Key characteristics of admissions to youth custody April 2014- March 2016’ London: Youth Justice Board
This blog accompanies a series of policy briefings produced by the AYJ as part of the UKRI-funded Impact of COVID-19 on Youth Justice project, delivered in partnership between the AYJ and the Manchester Centre for Youth Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University.
AYJ would like to thank Dr Anne-Marie Day, Lecturer in Criminology at Keele University, for her valuable contribution. Find out more about Anne-Marie’s work:
Academia: Anne-Marie_Day - Keele University
Twitter: @Anne_MarieDay