AYJ Comment: HMIP’s thematic review of outcomes for girls in custody

Yesterday (21st September 2022), HM Inspectorate of Prisons published a thematic review of outcomes for girls in custody, finding a “dysfunctional” and “frail” system failing girls. 

The report highlights the extensive exposure to trauma girls in custody have experienced, “without exception”, entering custody with multiple and complex needs. Girls in custody are significantly more likely to self-harm than boys, and the report finds a “vicious cycle” of self-harm and restraint. 

Critically, the report finds custody is not always used as a last resort for girls. Girls are being remanded to custody simply because there is no other placement available, either in hospitals or in the community.   

Since the closure of Rainsbrook Secure Training Centres (STC) in July 2021, girls have for the first time been held at Wetherby Young Offender Institution (YOI). Secure Children's Homes (SCH) placement policies that in principle should ensure children aren’t held in unsuitable institutions are in practice resulting in girls with the highest level of need being placed in Wetherby, which has the fewest resources to support them. 

Commenting on the report, AYJ Interim Chief Executive Saqib Deshmukh said: 

“Girls in contact with the justice system are being failed by a lack of targeted provision and a lack of focus in policy. It is disturbing that exceptionally vulnerable girls are being sent to custody unnecessarily, where they are subjected to greater instances of restraint, despite this clearly exacerbating harm and trauma.    

All girls in custody should be held in SCHs. The placement of girls in an institution least able to meet their needs, as a result of failures in YOIs and STCs and a lack of SCH provision, demonstrates yet again the urgent need for a comprehensive plan for the future of the secure estate for children, developed with full and open consultation - as the AYJ recommends in our ‘Crises and Crossroads for the children’s secure estate’ policy briefing.

Practitioners must be trained to recognise and respond to the needs of girls and young women at all stages of the criminal justice system, including the distinct needs of Black, Asian and minoritized young women, and care-experienced girls. A cross-departmental approach is imperative. As recommended in our collaborative project with Agenda, The Young Women’s Project, gender-sensitive practice must be enshrined in staff training and secure estate policy, and non-punitive, trauma-informed and strength-based approaches are needed to address risks and vulnerabilities. 

There were just 14 girls in the children’s custodial estate at the time that the inspection was carried out. Such a small number gives the government every opportunity to ensure that all girls in custody receive sufficiently nuanced and trauma-informed care.”