Young offenders 'set up to fail' when released

Wednesday 14 September 2011
by Adrian Roberts

Prison campaigners the Howard League for Penal Reform urged the government today to scrap failed youth crime policies that lead to "a sense of profound exclusion" from society.

The league hit back at calls for a hard-line response against young offenders raised by right-wing politicians since days of rioting last month.

In a damning report drawn from the experiences of youths themselves it warned that the current system reinforces feelings of detachment that "erode children's hopes of a positive future."

And it said that the current policy of jailing young people then closely monitoring them in the community following their release should be scrapped as it "sets vulnerable children up to fail."

It said children's relationships with their families should instead be supported and they should be shown positive role models.

The league's findings formed part of a five-year project dubbed U R Boss, which aims to give a voice to young people who have spent time in custody.

"In the main, children and young people in the youth justice system come from backgrounds of social and economic disadvantage," it said.

"Their experiences within the system reinforce their perceptions as a 'collective other', furthering their feelings of being disenfranchised and detached from society and eroding their hopes of positive futures."

Howard League chief executive Frances Crook said: "The conditions and restrictions that are imposed when a young person leaves prison serve only to further criminalise young people and exclude them from positive relationships with professionals, their families and their communities.

"The youth justice system has failed - and will continue to do so until it listens to young people and addresses the underlying causes of crime."

But a Ministry of Justice spokesman said custody was only used for the "most serious or persistent" offenders where it was necessary to protect the public.

"Youth offending teams play a key role in assessing young people and work with the courts to tailor sentences according to individual needs.

"This includes supporting parents in local communities to improve their parenting skills."