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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/sep/23/children-in-england-youth-prisons-denied-family-visits-due-to-covid-restrictions
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| Children in England's youth prisons denied family visits due to Covid restrictions | Children in England's youth prisons denied family visits due to Covid restrictions |
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| Report finds stop to face-to-face interactions has had ‘disturbing consequences’ | Report finds stop to face-to-face interactions has had ‘disturbing consequences’ |
| Social distancing measures in youth prisons have had “disturbing consequences”, with children denied face-to-face interaction with families and friends, as well as visits from social workers, youth offending staff or lawyers, a report has found. | Social distancing measures in youth prisons have had “disturbing consequences”, with children denied face-to-face interaction with families and friends, as well as visits from social workers, youth offending staff or lawyers, a report has found. |
| Children incarcerated at England’s three secure training centres, which look after 10- to 17-year-olds, are supposed to receive 30 hours of education and training a week, following a school-day timetable. But during the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has allowed institutions to reduce the minimum amount of time a child must be out of their room in each 24-hour period from 14 hours to just 1.5 hours. | Children incarcerated at England’s three secure training centres, which look after 10- to 17-year-olds, are supposed to receive 30 hours of education and training a week, following a school-day timetable. But during the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has allowed institutions to reduce the minimum amount of time a child must be out of their room in each 24-hour period from 14 hours to just 1.5 hours. |
| Face-to-face visiting has also stopped entirely, according to the State of Youth Justice 2020 report, released on Wednesday by the National Association for Youth Justice. | Face-to-face visiting has also stopped entirely, according to the State of Youth Justice 2020 report, released on Wednesday by the National Association for Youth Justice. |
| The result is “statutory authorisation for the solitary confinement of children”, argues the report’s author, Dr Tim Bateman. “We are storing up a range of problems that will not be easily dealt with later,” he warns. | The result is “statutory authorisation for the solitary confinement of children”, argues the report’s author, Dr Tim Bateman. “We are storing up a range of problems that will not be easily dealt with later,” he warns. |
| At young offender institutions, which provide a more prison-like environment for 15- to 21-year-olds, inspectors found that young people’s educational activities were limited to worksheets in their cells. Time out of cell varied from three hours a day to just 40 minutes. | At young offender institutions, which provide a more prison-like environment for 15- to 21-year-olds, inspectors found that young people’s educational activities were limited to worksheets in their cells. Time out of cell varied from three hours a day to just 40 minutes. |
| “Such constraints on what are already impoverished regimes inevitably increase the acute strain on extremely vulnerable children,” writes Bateman, a reader in youth justice at the University of Bedfordshire. | “Such constraints on what are already impoverished regimes inevitably increase the acute strain on extremely vulnerable children,” writes Bateman, a reader in youth justice at the University of Bedfordshire. |
| He adds: “Whilst it is too early to assess the full implications for children in prison, a number of consequences are already clear. In particular, changes to regimes to accommodate social distancing have already had disturbing consequences.” | He adds: “Whilst it is too early to assess the full implications for children in prison, a number of consequences are already clear. In particular, changes to regimes to accommodate social distancing have already had disturbing consequences.” |
| Lockdown prompted an immediate and significant fall in the number of children sent to custody, the report found. There was a 14% fall in the population of the children’s custodial estate between February and April 2020, from 770 to 664 children. | |
| The research also investigated how girls are treated in the youth justice system. By 2019, girls made up just 11% of all young people convicted of crime. But they were more than six times more likely than boys to self-harm, according to figures from the Youth Justice Board for 2019. | The research also investigated how girls are treated in the youth justice system. By 2019, girls made up just 11% of all young people convicted of crime. But they were more than six times more likely than boys to self-harm, according to figures from the Youth Justice Board for 2019. |
| In the same year, girls in secure training centres were also more likely to report a history of state care than boys – 62% against 51%. “Such vulnerabilities are clearly not met with adequate levels of support: across the secure estate girls were more than twice as likely to be physically restrained,” notes Bateman. | In the same year, girls in secure training centres were also more likely to report a history of state care than boys – 62% against 51%. “Such vulnerabilities are clearly not met with adequate levels of support: across the secure estate girls were more than twice as likely to be physically restrained,” notes Bateman. |
| Girls in custody are also placed considerably further from home – those incarcerated between 2014 and 2016 were held an average of 72 miles away from their home community compared with an equivalent figure of 49 miles for all children. | Girls in custody are also placed considerably further from home – those incarcerated between 2014 and 2016 were held an average of 72 miles away from their home community compared with an equivalent figure of 49 miles for all children. |
| Pippa Goodfellow, director of the Standing Committee for Youth Justice, said the report called into question the extent to which a “child-first” approach had been adopted by the youth justice system in England and Wales. This is supposed to “see children first and offenders second” and gives young people a voice in how they are treated in the criminal justice system. | |
| She said: “Youth justice is at a critical juncture; this report serves as a warning to learn from the recent past, and guard against the disastrous and long-lasting impact that a ‘tough on crime’ stance can bring about for children and young people.” | She said: “Youth justice is at a critical juncture; this report serves as a warning to learn from the recent past, and guard against the disastrous and long-lasting impact that a ‘tough on crime’ stance can bring about for children and young people.” |