11MILLION Concerns Over

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www.11MILLION.org.uk
11MILLION Concerns Over Girls in Custody
Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green Childrens
Commissioner for England
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Setting the record straightI do not condone or
encouragecrime or antisocial behaviour

• Children should be brought up to respect the law,
  understand the boundaries of acceptable behaviour
  and be held to account if they transgress those
  boundaries
• People of any age who commit violent crimes must
  be punished through the courts

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A case study from the past

• In 1875, 13-yr old Emily Davies was
• sentenced to 14 days in prison and 4 years in
• a reformatory.
• Why? for stealing a few apples
• It is not with any vindictive feeling that we
  are
• punishing you, but for the prevention of crime.
• Others will be deterred from offending through
• the dread of punishment.

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What happened?

• National media outrage - including Punch The
  little captive maid
• Thomas Blake, courageous MP for Leominster
• Home Secretary declined to intervene
• Nationwide public meetings
• MPs informed applied pressure
• Climb down by Home Secretary
• It is not desirable that young children be sent
  to reformatories on first offence

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Youth Justice System2009 what has changed?

• Dominated by a punitive approach
• Offenders first, children second
• Low age of criminal responsibility
• Too many children being criminalised and brought
  into system at increasingly younger age
• Not focussed on childrens needs and best
  interests
• Not sufficiently distinct from adult criminal
  justice system no specialism for juveniles in
  prison service
• High rates of re-offending

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Girls in Custody

• On 6 February 2009 there were 176 girls in
  custody.
• This represents 7 of all juveniles detained.
• Use of custody for girls risen sharply 1992-2006
  total no. custodial sentences for juveniles rose
  by 56, those for girls increased by 297

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Vulnerability - Girls in Custody

• 40 suffered violence at home.
• 33 report sexual abuse.
• 71 have some form of psychiatric disorder
• 89 lt 18yrs self-harm
• 49 are drug dependent
• 50 have literacy levels lt 11 years
• 71 have been involved with, or in the care of,
  social services before entering custody.

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Youth Justice System - Custody

• High numbers of children detained in EW
  growing numbers serving longer sentences
• Transportation to custody - young people travel
  with adults girls report harassment
• Children placed long distances from home,
  especially an issue for female units - impact on
  family visits
• Children experience high levels of intimidation,
  violence abuse
• Inadequate support for mental health learning
  disability
• 30 children have died in custody since 1990 yet
  there has never been a public inquiry

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Restraint

• High levels of restraint used against children -
  girls are more likely to be restrained than boys.
• Girls 7 of youth custody population but 20 of
  all restraints carried out on them April
  2007-June 2008.
• HM Chief Inspector found adult methods of control
  being used and not always properly monitored.
• Restraint not being used as a last resort and
  restraint pain routinely used as response to
  non-compliant behaviour.
• Use of violence and force as control or
  punishment on vulnerable children is
  unacceptable.

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Independent Review of Restraint

• Narrowness of review - failure to set in wider
  context of how children treated in youth justice
  system
• Review did not result in withdrawal of restraint
  methods that deliberately inflict pain
• Opportunity not taken to ensure compliance with
  UNCRC
• Review falls short of the UN Committees
  recommendations that restraint should only be
  used as a last resort exclusively to prevent harm
  to the child or others and that all methods of
  physical restraint for disciplinary purposes be
  abolished.

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Judicial Review on Restraint

• R (C) SoS for Justice 2008 - Government
  Regulation which extended the circumstances (good
  order discipline) in which restraint could be
  used on children in STCs found to be in breach of
  articles 8 3 of ECHR
• Judicial review into the Adam Rickwood inquest,
  as well as ordering another inquest, identified
  the use of restraint as assault, highlighted
  the importance of the UNCRC and questioned the
  findings of the restraint review as being based
  on a number of false assumptions

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What has been missing from thedebate - the
experiences and views of children themselves.

• The Childs Journey through conflict with the
  law
• First contact with the police
• YOT contact
• Magistrates court
• Crown Prosecution Service
• Youth Court
• Crown Court
• Incarceration
• Release and revolving door
• Needs, competencies, prevention and alternatives

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Using my power of entryIn their words

• Nobody shows me any respect
• Magistrates dont understand us and dont talk
  to us
• I want a cuddle from my mum but they wont let
  me
• Theres no problem getting any drug I want
• I tried to commit suicide and felt worse on
  suicide watch
• I want a second chance, but how do I get it?
• Im back in because nobody gave me any support
  outside
• Im safer inside than outside

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In 112 recommendations the UKCCs expose
deep concern over the ongoing failure to give
Children and Young People full protection of
civil rights and freedoms and the promises of
provision and participation under the 42
Articles of the UNCRC






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UNCRC Concluding Observations 2008

• Youth justice system not compliant with UNCRC and
  recommends full implementation of international
  standards of juvenile justice, especially
  articles 37, 39 and 40, as well as other
  international standards
• Recommends raising the minimum age of criminal
  responsibility
• Concerns about the high number of children
  detained recommends development of
  alternatives to detention
• Establish as a statutory principle that detention
  should be used as a measure of last resort for
  shortest period of time.

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Council of Europes Human Rights Commissioner

• Highly critical of the overuse of child
  detention custody
• Concerned about mental health needs
• Highly concerned about high re-offending rates in
  UK
• Urged the immediate discontinuation of all
  methods of restraint that aim to inflict pain on
  children.
• The Commissioner is not aware of any other
  member state that sanctions the use of deliberate
  pain as a method of restraining a child
• Recommends custodial sentencing of children be
  reformed with a view to radically reduce the
  numbers of children in custody the current
  control/punitive model be replaced with a
  child-centred approach

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Review of provision for girls in custody to
reduce offending - CfBT Nacro Report

• Welcome report focus on neglected group - girls
  in custody
• Important contribution to addressing the needs of
  girls who offend.
• Welcome the recognition of need to develop
  gender-specific programmes to prevent girls
  re-offending identification of key principles
• Major concern why so many children, including
  girls, being locked up

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• We can must improve the
• outcomes of our children and
• young people in conflict with
• the law
• Political will
• Penal populism
• Media public education
• Confronting the culture in
• services see through the
• eyes of the child
• Lets go for it!

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(No Transcript)
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Other Human Rights Standards

• UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration
  of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules?) -1985
• UN Guidelines for Prevention of Juvenile
  Delinquency (The Riyadh Guidelines) 1990
• UN Standard Minimum Rules for Non-Custodial
  Measures (The Tokyo Rules)
• UN Rules for Protection of Juveniles Deprived of
  their Liberty -1990
• Committee on the Rights of the Child General
  Comment No. 10, Childrens Rights in Juvenile
  Justice, 2007
• Human Rights Act 1998

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The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

• Article 37 -
• a) No child shall be subject to torture or other
  cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
  punishment.
• b) No child shall be deprived of his/her liberty
  unlawfully or arbitrarily detention of a child
  shall be used only as a measure of last resort
  and for the shortest appropriate period of time.
• c) Every child deprived of liberty shall be
  treated with humanity and respect for inherent
  dignity and take account of the needs of the
  person.Every child deprived of liberty shall be
  separated from adults unless in childs best
  interests not to do so.

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UNCRC

• Article 40 State parties recognise the right of
  every child in alleged or committed an offence to
  be treated in a manner consistent with the
  promotion of the childs sense of dignity and
  worth. Includes following principles2bi) to be
  presumed innocent until proven guilty by
  law2bvii) to have his or her privacy fully
  respected at all stages of the process.3.
  Promote the establishment of laws, procedures,
  authorities and institutions specifically
  applicable to children alleged as, accused of, or
  recognized as having infringed the penal law,
  3(a) the establishment of a minimum age below
  which children shall be presumed not to have the
  capacity to infringe the penal law.