AYJ Comment: Concerns about vulnerable children at Wetherby YOI underline need for urgent overhaul of custody
Today, 5th March 2024, HM Inspectorate of Prisons has published its report on a recent inspection of Wetherby Young Offender Institution (YOI), shining a light on inappropriate use of force and inadequacies in oversight to ensure the safety of some of the most vulnerable children in society.
The report highlights ‘serious gaps’ in oversight around use of force. Inspectors were concerned about the frequency of strip-searching under restraint, and pain-inducing restraint had been used on multiple children, deemed to have been inappropriate on every occasion. There was a lack of emphasis on learning lessons to prevent reoccurrences, and no clear plans or lines of accountability to reduce use of force.
Children continue to spend far too long locked up in their cells particularly on weekends. Separated children spent up to 23.5 hours a day in their cells, and too many children spent long periods separated due to staffing shortfalls delaying conflict resolution. The average length of separation had increased to 21 days, and two children had been separated for more than 150 days.
Inspectors were particularly concerned about the safety of the incredibly vulnerable girls that the YOI now holds. The girls have ‘extremely high’ rates of self-harm and are subjected to ‘very high’ use of force, including traumatising responses of male officers restraining and stripping them. Girls faced long periods locked alone in their cells and did not have any peer contact during evenings and weekends, demonstrating the stark inadequacy of the regime as a serious concern. Wetherby YOI is ‘not able to meet their needs’, but females continue to be placed there in the absence of an effective model of custody for girls or a national plan to effectively respond to their gender-specific vulnerabilities.
Commenting on the report, AYJ Chief Executive Pippa Goodfellow said:
“The latest inspection report makes for yet another deeply concerning read about the safety of children held in YOIs, and the lack of meaningful time spent engaged in activities that support them to grow, develop and move on from offending. Inadequate oversight and accountability is leaving children subjected to entirely inappropriate use of force, while failures in national and local planning are inflicting further trauma on extremely vulnerable girls. This is more compelling evidence that the government must put an end to the inappropriate and unsustainable placement of highly vulnerable girls in Wetherby YOI, a policy which is patently failing to meet their needs and exacerbating harm.
The Alliance for Youth Justice welcomes that the Youth Custody Service is developing a much needed and long overdue strategy for children in custody, something we have long been calling for. We look forward to working with our members to inform the development of the strategy, which must effectively deal with the issues laid plain by this report, set out a clear vision and timescales for the closure of failing institutions, and put an end to the cycle of recurring crises in the children’s secure estate.”