The YJB response to the Government's announcement that it will
increase the number of 18-years-olds in the secure estate for
children.
Phil Bowen, Interim Chair of the Youth Justice Board, says:
We recognise the significant challenges currently facing the
adult prison estate and the difficult decisions that ministers
must make in managing prison capacity. However, capacity
pressures should not lead us to move further away from what the
evidence tells us is effective. If anything, the current
challenges provide an opportunity to reflect on the lessons that
can be learned from the youth justice system.
Over the last two decades, youth justice has achieved substantial
reductions in the number of children entering the system and in
the number held in custody. Those improvements have not been
driven by greater use of coercion or containment, but by a
stronger focus on prevention, early intervention, partnership
working and understanding the underlying causes of offending
behaviour. At the heart of this has been a commitment to
evidence-informed practice and a clear theory of change that
recognises offending is often linked to unmet needs, trauma,
exclusion, poor mental health, unstable accommodation and a lack
of positive relationships and opportunities.
As the government considers the future of both youth and adult
custody, there is a need for a coherent, evidence-based approach
that is operationalised across the whole justice system. This
should focus on understanding what works to prevent offending and
reoffending, building safer and more constructive environments,
and ensuring that policy, commissioning, workforce development
and operational delivery are all aligned to those aims.
We are therefore disappointed by the announcement to reverse the
policy that prevented 18-year-olds being held in the secure
estate for children. While we understand that this decision has
been taken in the context of wider prison capacity pressures, the
safety and welfare of children in custody must remain the
overriding consideration. Our oversight work, supported by wider
evidence, demonstrates that children and young adults have
distinct needs and require different approaches from staff and
services. The specialist skills required to support young adults
effectively are not yet consistently in place across the
children's estate. Combined with ongoing challenges relating to
staffing, the physical environment and the increasingly complex
profile of children in custody, there is a real risk that this
decision could have unintended consequences for the safety and
wellbeing of both children and staff.
Source
The
Government's announcement on criminal justice reform
