Britain's practice of locking up children needs a 'complete overhaul,' says childrens' commissioner

Britain should stop locking up children and “completely overhaul” young offenders’ institutions, says the children’s commissioner.

Anne Longfield said Britain should consider the “welfare” approach to young offenders in other countries, noting that five Scandinavian countries had just 13 young people in custody compared with 650 in England and Wales.

Asked by MPs on the Justice Committee if secure youth custody was a suitable place for children, she said: “It has to be completely overhauled.

“It has to start with what it’s trying to achieve. This isn’t to say we are letting people off. This has to be a period where it’s about [the children’s] recovery, meeting the needs of these children. We have to look at the welfare approach of other countries and intervene earlier.

“Yes, that means intervening at the police but way back before then. If kids are being excluded from school, that needs to be a trigger for intervention and diversion.

“I don’t think any one of us would feel safe if we had to stay overnight in youth custody, and, for vulnerable people in our country, it only adds to the trauma.”

She said inspectors’ reports showed there were alarming levels of violence in young offenders’ institutions (YOIs), with 35 per cent of the children in them saying they felt unsafe.

It was a system based on “behaviour management” designed to suppress violence by keeping rival gang members apart and an “over-reliance” on segregation and restraint, she said.

“Essentially it is a security regime rather than the kind of regime that is the ambition of secure schools which is about education and learning. In YoIs, there is a lot of time just passing your time,” said Ms Longfield.

During the “draconian” regime during the coronavirus lockdown, it had meant children spending 22 hours a day in their cell with no education, visits or activities. Yet, even before that, children could be locked up at the weekend from 2pm to 8am.

“A lot of the time is spent winding people up and shouting through doors. It is not surprising there is a lot of violence on a Monday and Tuesday,” she said.