A new report published by the Prison Reform Trust identifies a number of successful international approaches to reducing child and youth imprisonment and cutting crime. England and Wales has one of the highest child custody populations in the western world, and the number of children sentenced to custody more than tripled between 1991 and 2006. Reducing child imprisonment in England and Wales – lessons from abroad by Enver Solomon and Rob Allen, director of the International Centre for Prison Studies, examines policies and programmes in countries with effective youth justice systems. The report also looks at how policymakers in Canada and New York responded to costly and damaging levels of youth custody by completely rethinking their approach to dealing with youth crime.
- In New York State USA, the total number of children in custody declined 27% between 2000 and 2006, and the state has closed four juvenile jails. With the support of their political masters, public servants have sought to increase the number of children diverted from prosecution and introduce new alternatives to prison including functional family therapy for children sentenced for serious offences and after-school centres for those on remand.
- In Canada the government made a brave decision to push through new legislation in order to reduce the number of children young people in prison. New laws passed in 2002 enshrined the principle of custody as a last resort and the aim of sentencing as promoting “rehabilitation and reintegration”. The rate of admission to secure custody fell by a third from 2003/4 to 2007/8 and youth crime has declined since 2003.
This report has been commissioned from the International Centre for Prison Studies as part of the Prison Reform Trust’s Out of Trouble programme. The aim of this five year programme is to reduce the number of children and young people imprisoned in the UK.
The programme is supported by The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.
Penelope Gibbs, director of the Out of Trouble programme, said:
Child imprisonment is ineffective and frequently inhumane. Other countries like Canada have recognized this and taken radical action. This report shows our government that courage in taking on the doubters can pay dividends.
Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said:
It is all too easy to give up on children in trouble or to believe that nothing works. Drawing on sound international evidence, this report shows that it is perfectly possible to cut youth crime and, at the same time, reduce the number of young people damaged by needless imprisonment.
You can download the report here
Notes
[1] KEY FACTS – England and Wales
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The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10 years old, one of the lowest in the world and lower than the Netherlands (12), Canada (12), France (13), Germany (14), Japan (15), Italy (15), Spain (16) and Belgium (18).
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At any one time last year, there were on average 2,932 children imprisoned in England and Wales.
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5,165 children aged 15-17 entered prison establishments last year.
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Imprisoning children is very expensive and accounts for two thirds of the Youth Justice Board’s annual budget.
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Three quarters of children given a custodial sentence will reoffend within a year of release, the highest reoffending rate of all the sentences available to the court.
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One fifth of children in custody in England and Wales are locked up on remand – approximately 600 at any one time.
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Three quarters of under-18 year olds locked up on remand by magistrates or district judges are either acquitted or given a community sentence.
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The number of children imprisoned on remand has increased by 41% since 2000.
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30% of boys and 37% of girls in custody have previously been ‘looked after’ by their local authority.
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85% of children in prison show signs of a personality disorder. One in ten shows signs of a psychotic illness.
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86% of 15-18 year boys olds in prison have been excluded from school.
More facts about children in custody can be found in the Prison Reform Trust’s June 2009 Bromley briefing Prison Factfile
[2] ‘Reducing child imprisonment in England and Wales – lessons from abroad’ was written by Enver Solomon and Rob Allen. Until 2009, Enver Solomon was deputy director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies. He has published work on knife crime, youth justice, crime and the media, prison policy and sentencing. Rob Allen has been director of the International Centre for Prison Studies since 2005. He was a member of the Youth Justice Board until 2006, and is an advisor to the House of Commons Justice Select Committee. He has written widely on youth justice matters.
[3] Previous publications from the Out of Trouble programme include Children: Innocent until proven guilty? A report on the overuse of custodial remand for children in England and Wales and Criminal Damage: why we should lock up fewer children.
[4] The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund continues the Princess' humanitarian work in the UK and overseas. By giving grants to organisations, championing charitable causes, advocacy, campaigning and awareness-raising, the Fund works to secure sustainable improvements in the lives of most disadvantaged people in the UK and around the world. See http://www.theworkcontinues.org.uk/.
