Prison inspectors have today reported major concerns with HMYOI Glen Parva in Leicestershire, with Nick Hardwick (Chief Inspector) noting that “This is a model of custody that does not work”.

He states in the foreword to the report that this is “one of a sequence of reports (Aylesbury, Brinsford, Feltham and Isis) which my inspectorate has produced that reveal serious concerns relating to young offender institutions (YOI) of this type.”

Frances Crook, Director of the Howard League for Penal Reform (a member of the T2A Alliance) called the findings more akin to a description from the novel ‘Lord of the Flies’. Among the findings of the prison, which holds nearly 700 18-21 year olds, were:

• Almost half of the young men held told us  they had felt unsafe in the establishment
• Recorded levels of assaults on other  prisoners and staff had risen by about a quarter over the last year and we were not assured that all  incidents were recorded.
• Evidence of prisoners charging ‘rent’ for cells with the threat of violence if this was not paid.
• An unacceptable attitude among some staff that this poor behaviour by detainees was  an inevitable and normal part of life in a prison holding young adults
• Some staff did not adequately  challenge poor behaviour, and their own behaviour and offensive language set a poor example an over-reliance on force and formal disciplinary measures. Levels of use of force, including full control and restraint, were high and even though some recording was poor
• The use of the segregation unit was also high and the regime was inadequate. The high use of segregation reflected an increase in serious incidents such as barricades, hostages and ‘incidents at height’.
• Many had committed their offences to get themselves placed in segregation where they would be away from the wings and safe.
• Prisoners at risk of suicide or self-harm had increased by 32% over the last year and was high. TheYOI itself had identified that many of the self-harm threats were a direct result of bullying. Two young men had killed themselves in 2013 and there had been two serious near misses in 2014.

T2A believes that the management of young adults in custody requires urgent reform, but does not agree with Ministry of Justice proposals of last year that the correct response would be to scrap distinct provision for young adults. Three quarters of deaths of 18-24 year olds occur in adult prisons, which suggests that simply mixing young adults within the general prison estate would exacerbate the problems that exist.

Rather, YOIs should be reconfigured to be well-resourced, smaller, dedicated institutions. Recently, following the successful reduction in numbers in the youth estate (from a peak of 4,000 children in custody 5 years ago to just over 1,000 now), it has also been suggested by a range of organisations and individuals that serious consideration should be given to the devolution of these institutions to the control of the Youth Justice Board and local authorities.

Read more about T2A’s research on the management of young adults in custody in the report ‘Young Adults in Custody: A Way Forward’ by Rob Allen.