T2A has today submitted its response to Lord Harris’ independent review of deaths of young adults aged 18-24 in NOMS custody. The Harris Review was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice at the start of 2014, led by the Independent Advisory Panel (IAP) on Deaths in Custody. The review will inform the government’s future plans for the management of young adults across the prison estate, including possible reforms to Young Offender Institutions (YOIs).

From 2012 to July 2014, there have been 46 self-inflicted deaths of young adults aged 18-24. There have been nine so far this year (another is awaiting classification). In the past 10 years, more than 160 children and young people under the age of 24 have died in prison.

Summary of the T2A response

The transition process

• The transition to adulthood is a process, not an event, and does not begin and end on a person’s 18^th birthday.
• Conversely, around the 18^th birthday, at a time of maximum risk and vulnerability, legislative frameworks and statutory expectations change in a binary fashion that does not reflect an individual’s preparedness.
• Transitions between child and adult statutory services are particularly poor, and routinely fail to take account of the distinct needs of young adults.
• 19 is the peak age of offending behaviour (for males), but is also the age at which youth-focussed services end.
• In the adult system, the consequences of offending and breach become more punitive, while at the same time access to supportive services such as mental health, supported living, youth work, education and drug treatment change in nature or cease.
• Yet with the right intervention, one that takes account of young adults’ distinct needs, this is the most likely age group to desist from crime.

Taking account of maturity

• Developmental maturity is a better guide to someone’s stage in reaching adulthood than their chronological age.
• Neuroscience has identified that the functions linked to ‘temperance’ (impulse control, rational thinking, empathy) are not normally fully developed in the adult male brain until the mid-20s.
• Maturity should be taken into account at all stages of decision-making, and some progress has been made to date by some criminal justice agencies.

Vulnerabilities

• There are particular vulnerabilities that affect a young person’s maturity, including drugs, alcohol and mental health problems.
• The uncertainty and shortage of safe, stable and suitable accommodation is also a significant challenge for young adults.
• Support for these issues normally involves youth to adult transitions between services beyond any criminal justice interventions, and these transitions are often turbulent and poorly planned (e.g. child and adolescent mental health services to adult mental health services).
• Many young adults involved in crime have acquired brain injuries, and in these cases they are even less likely to reach full neurological development by their mid-20s.
• There are particular vulnerabilities arising from a young person’s gender and ethnicity, and these require specific attention within and beyond the context of young adulthood.

What works for young adults?

• Very few current criminal justice responses take a distinct approach to young adults.
• Outcomes for criminal justice responses for young adults are very poor (both in the community and following custody) and young adults have the highest reoffending and breach rates of all sentenced adults.
• Outcomes from interventions for young adults are best when services are based on providing a consistent, trusting relationship and an approach that is strength-based and solution focussed.
• Young adults respond least well to services that are overly regimented, punitive and punishment-focussed.
• A distinct approach for young adults is effective in reducing offending behaviour and breach of requirements, and contributes to positive social outcomes such as higher rates of employment and better health.
• Services for young adult women are most effective when they take account of both age and gender specific needs.

Criminal justice interventions for young adults

• Young adults represent 10% of the general population but account for 30-40% of the criminal justice caseload (policing time, probation work, prison entries).
• They have the highest reoffending rates of any group (75% reoffend within two years of release from prison), and the highest breach rates of those serving community sentences.
• Distinct and effective interventions for young adults can be implemented at all stages of the criminal justice process, from point of arrest through to release from prison.
• The CPS and sentencers now take maturity into account in decision-making for adults.
• There are very limited options available to sentencers for a distinct young adult sentence.
• The changes to probation services are likely to result in a huge variation and inconsistency in the provision of a distinct approach for young adults.

Young adults in custody

• Although notionally there is distinct provision for 18-20-year-old young adults in custody, this is woefully under-resourced.
• Any distinct provision that remains continues to be eroded by cuts and a lack of leadership from central government.
• Many prison governors and staff want to provide an effective regime, but are being hampered by policy confusion, continual estate reorganisation and untenable resource pressures.
• Levels of violence and self-harm among young adults in many designated Young Offender Institutions make meaningful engagement in purposeful activities almost impossible.
• HM Inspectorate reports of adult prisons holding young adults on remand (the setting where the majority of deaths of young adults in recent years have occurred) have consistently found a lack of strategic approach to young adults.
• Specific provision for young adult women in prison is very poor in most establishments.
• Legal aid cuts mean that it is almost impossible for young adults to receive free representation while in prison for anything other than release date appeals.

Young adults in custody: The way forward

• Other jurisdictions respond differently to offending by young adults, such as in Germany where the courts choose either juvenile or adult law for young adults on the basis of the maturity of the individual and their distinct needs.
• There is great social and economic gain to be made by implementing a distinct approach for young adults, and this can be realised within existing budgets and legislation.
• However, legislative and system change would make this more efficient, and there is worth in considering extending the youth justice system to an older age group.

Response by the Transition to Adulthood Alliance to IAP FINAL