Youth custody system ‘dysfunctional’ and failing ladies, report finds

Women and younger ladies confronted “important challenges” after they had been launched or moved into grownup jails, in keeping with the findings from 5 inspection our bodies.

The prisons and probation inspectorates, Ofsted, the Care High quality Fee and Care Inspectorate Wales, discovered 14 ladies had been being held in custody in England and Wales on the time of their inspection.

All of them had been in safe kids’s properties or at Wetherby younger offender establishment in West Yorkshire.

Their report stated: “The best way the system operates is dysfunctional.”

Additionally describing the system as “frail”, the inspectors added: “We noticed many devoted frontline workers doing their finest in extraordinarily troublesome circumstances.

“Regardless of this the custodial property didn’t operate successfully and too usually ladies with the best degree of want had been positioned in institutions with the least useful resource.

“Outcomes for women in key areas had been poor and so they confronted important challenges after they had been launched or transferred to the grownup property.”

The women in query had “complicated wants” together with psychological well being issues, self-harm and substance abuse, with some held in custody “just because there was no different placement accessible”.

However custody was usually “incapable” of offering the assist they want, in keeping with the findings.

The report stated: “With out exception these ladies had lengthy histories of publicity to traumatic occasions and got here into custody with a number of and complicated wants.

“In lots of instances alternatives for early intervention in the neighborhood had been missed and the failure to offer for these ladies had usually led to an escalation in poor behaviour and finally to a custodial sentence.

“We discovered a number of examples of women remanded to custody just because there was no different placement accessible, both in hospital or in the neighborhood.”

The inspectors had been notably involved about security and located ladies had been “12 instances extra possible than boys to self-harm and extra more likely to be restrained, usually in response to self-harm”.

However after being restrained they had been usually left alone of their cells with out additional assist, the report discovered.

“One woman we spoke to was restrained six instances in a single night time in response to her self-harm. This was clearly traumatising and will probably enhance the danger of additional makes an attempt. The vicious cycle of self-harm and restraint must be addressed urgently,” the findings stated.

In a separate report, inspectors additionally discovered Wetherby – which primarily holds boys – was “struggling to deal with the excessive wants of the six ladies in its care”.

Regardless of some enhancements, all the youngsters there have been nonetheless spending lengthy intervals of time locked up, and workers shortages meant actions had been usually curtailed.

Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor stated the “tempo of change wants to enhance to ensure that outcomes for kids to alter meaningfully.”

A Youth Custody Service spokesperson stated: “Whereas the variety of ladies in custody has fallen dramatically during the last decade, we’re investing £300 million within the youth justice system to assist divert much more susceptible kids away from crime.

“These ladies have exceptionally complicated wants and we’re constructing the first-ever Safe Faculty to place schooling, coaching and rehabilitation on the coronary heart of our efforts to get the very best consequence for each little one in our care.”