Policy makers involved in reshaping the youth custody estate should listen to what children tell us about themselves and their time in custody, said Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons. Today he published a thematic report on the results of surveys of children in custody.

The report, Children in Custody 2013-14: an analysis of 12-18-year-olds’ perceptions of their experience in secure training centres and young offender institutions, published jointly with the Youth Justice Board (YJB), sets out how children describe their own experience of imprisonment.

Over the past five years there has been a welcome drop in the number of children in custody and in response, several young offender institutions (YOIs) have been decommissioned and girls are now only held in secure training centres (STCs) or secure children’s homes. Most children in custody are there for serious offences. Research has shown that the characteristics of children in custody are different from those of the general child population: they are more likely to have education, health (including mental health) and family issues. The government has set out plans to reform the youth custody estate, replacing STCs and YOIs with a fewer number of larger secure colleges to hold the majority of children in custody. The aim is to improve the standard of academic and vocational training provided to children in custody.

Compared with last year’s YOI survey responses, there were five questions where the 2013-14 responses were an improvement. This included a higher proportion of boys reporting that they could shower, use the telephone and go outside for exercise each day. There were 39 questions where the responses were a deterioration from the 2012-13 responses. In 2013-14, boys reported a poorer experience during their first few days, including feelings of safety on their first night, being offered help on arrival and information about being upset. Boys were more likely to report having been restrained (38% in 2013-14 compared with 30% in 2012-13) and having spent a night in the care and separation unit. Boys were less likely in 2013-14 to report that most staff treated them with respect and more likely to report having an emotional or mental health problem. A higher proportion of boys said they were not involved in any activities at the time of the survey – 14% compared with 10% in 2012-13.

The report also found that:

• most boys (85%) said they were aged 16 or 17, 4% said they were 15 and 11% that they were 18;
• a third said they had been in local authority care at some point;
• 11% said they had children;
• only 4% said they were foreign national;
• 41% of boys said they were from a black and minority ethnic background;
• two-fifths (42%) of boys said they were Christian and 22% that they were Muslim;
• 6% said they had a Gypsy, Romany or Traveller background; and
• almost four-fifths (78%) said they were sentenced, with almost half serving less than 12 months.

In April 2012, HM Inspectorate of Prisons, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission began joint inspections of STCs. This report includes the second annual summary of children and young people’s experience of STCs.

The report found that in 2013-14:

• 37% said that they were under the age of 16 at the time of the survey;
• 11% reported being Gypsy, Romany or Traveller;
• 43% of young people said they were from a black or minority ethnic background;
• 14% said that they were Muslim; and
• 22% said that they had a disability.

There were only six statistically significant differences from the 2013-14 and 2012-13 survey responses, which all showed an improvement in responses in 2013-14. These included children reporting better treatment/support by staff on arrival, and more children saying they had received advice/skills training to help them with jobs on release.

Nick Hardwick said:

“These are self-reported perceptions and experiences and as such cannot answer on their own how safe, respectful and purposeful the youth custody estate and individual establishments are. However, this unique insight into children’s own perceptions of their experience of custody should be of importance to policy makers, academics and all who have a concern about the treatment and conditions of children in custody. What children tell us about themselves and their time in custody should be listened to and used, both to prompt further exploration of the questions raised by their responses and to help shape the major changes to the youth custody estate that are now planned.”

Lin Hinnigan, Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Board, said:

“We are pleased to be able to work with HM Inspectorate of Prisons to ensure that young people in custody are given the opportunity to have their say on the services that they receive whilst in our care.

“We carefully consider the opinions expressed by those currently in the youth secure estate, together with other sources of information and data. This helps us to improve the standards we set for our service providers and can also help inform policy-making across the youth justice system.”

Notes to Editors:

1. Read the report here.
2. This is the tenth report published jointly with the Youth Justice Board (YJB) that details the perceptions of custody of 15- to 18-year-olds held in young offender institutions across England and Wales. It provides an opportunity to compare young people’s perceptions across establishments and over time.
3. The report is based on the experience of 729 young men in seven male establishments plus a separate survey of a specialist unit for boys considered to be vulnerable (the Keppel Unit) within HMYOI Wetherby. These surveys were carried out from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 and received an overall response rate of 82%.
4. This report covers the second year that HMI Prisons has examined the perceptions of children (mostly aged 15 to 17) held in the four secure training centres in England. 231 responses were analysed, an overall response rate of 87%. 87% of respondents were male and 13% were female. The four STCs are operated by the private sector.
5. HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent inspectorate, inspecting places of detention to report on conditions and treatment, and promote positive outcomes for those detained and the public.
6. Please contact Jane Parsons in HMI Prisons Press Office on 020 3681 2775 or 07880 787452 if you would like more information or to request an interview with Nick Hardwick.