What is a Young Offender Institution?

UK: Young Offender Institutions

What is a Young Offender Institution?

Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) are prisons for 15-21 year olds. They are run by the Prison Service as part of the prison estate as a whole.
YOIs are distinct from Secure Training Centres and Local Authority Secure Children's Homes, which focus on different types of youth offenders and therefore have different staffing and accommodation specifications.
The core distinction is that Young Offender Institutions have a lower staff to offender ratio, reflecting the focus of these institutions on incarceration as opposed to rehabilitation and care. YOIs are also generally larger. Perhaps the best-known YOI in England is Feltham in west London.
Young offender wings also exist within adult prisons.

Background

Young Offender Institutions were introduced under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, but special centres for young offenders have existed since the 19th century.
The idea originated with the Gladstone Committee in 1895 as an attempt to reform young offenders. The first institution was opened in 1902 at Borstal Prison in Kent — and the name 'borstal' has become synonymous with the system.
The 'Borstal Philosophy' was based on the regimes of late 19th century and early 20th century public schools, advocating military-style discipline (including widespread corporal punishment) and emphasising work training and skills acquisition.
The Criminal Justice Act 1982 abolished the borstal system, replacing it with a network of youth custody centres.
Young Offender Institutions are today regulated by the Young Offender Institution Rules 2000, which are effectively the equivalent of the Prison Rules 1999 that apply to adult prisons in the UK.

Controversies

Young Offender Institution's have historically been the target of criticism from both the public and Government. Problems at YOIs have included suicides, bullying and unsafe conditions for prisoners. YOIs and juvenile establishments have the highest assault rates of any prisons in England and Wales.
Critics of YOIs argue that imprisonment is inappropriate for young people. The majority of those in Young Offender Institutions have complex educational, social and often mental health needs, which critics say are often not addressed. Lack of resources and intimidating atmospheres are said to hamper rehabilitation work. Indeed, some critics argue that the effect of incarceration has the opposite intended effect: with little to occupy them and in the company of other offenders, detainees may be put on the road to a life of crime.
A number of modern Young Offender Institutions have attracted particular criticism for their violence and disorder.

The former HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, Sir David Ramsbotham, condemned Feltham Young Offender Institution as “one of the worst” prisons in the system, with “Dickensian” conditions, racism and violence. The Prison Service was accused of “a shocking catalogue of failure” over the killing of Asian teenager Zahid Mubarek by a racist cellmate at Feltham.
However, in 2001 Sir David singled out Swinfen Hall Young Offender Institution in Staffordshire as an example to other institutions, a place “in which the needs as well as the characteristics of young, adolescent prisoners, are understood and catered for.”

Statistics

On 30 January 2004, there were 10,645 under 21-year-olds in prisons in England and Wales
Re-offending rates for young offender institutions are as high as 84 per cent
A six-month custodial sentence for a young offender costs the taxpayer an average of Ł21,000

Statistic 1: (Source: Prison Reform Trust briefing, 2004);
Statistics 2 and 3 (Source: NACRO)

Quote

“It doesn't reduce offending — evidence suggests exactly the opposite. In short, our current approach to youth justice fails children and fails society.”
Lord Carlile QC — NACRO

Issue Brief
18 May 2005

http://www.politics.co.uk/issues/young-offender-institutions-$2111785.htm

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