Policy Briefing: Crises and crossroads for the children’s secure estate: Resisting child imprisonment and rethinking youth custody post-pandemic
This is the third of three policy briefings for our ‘Impact of COVID-19 on Youth Justice’ research project, delivered in collaboration between ourselves and the Manchester Centre for Youth Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University, and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council as part of the UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to COVID-19.
This briefing presents the significant challenges for the children’s secure estate that lie ahead in the wake of the pandemic. It examines existing failures pre-pandemic, the significant risk of harm to children in custody as a result of experiences during the pandemic, failures in strategy for the children’s secure estate, and the government projection that the number of children in custody will steeply rise in coming years.
The briefing finds:
Experiences in custody during COVID-19 have been brutal. New practices have emerged and cultural norms have shifted creating both significant risks and opportunities.
The pandemic response raises questions about leadership, oversight and structure of the estate.
Alarm bells are ringing about how an estate already on its knees will cope should the number of children in custody increase.
The briefing calls for:
A clear vision for the future of the children’s secure estate, including plans to close YOIs and STCs
Urgent action to repair the harms of the pandemic for children in custody
Concerted efforts to keep children out of custody