“In most places around the world prisons are synonymous with violence. It is generally assumed to be an unavoidable side effect of incarceration, and may even be viewed as a desirable part of incarceration’s supposed deterrent influence… In the United Kingdom an innovative approach is being tried at Europe’s largest youth prison, Hindley Young Offenders’ Institution in northwestern England.” Read more here.
In most places around the world prisons are synonymous with violence. It is generally assumed to be an unavoidable side effect of incarceration, and may even be viewed as a desirable part of incarceration’s supposed deterrent influence. For prison administrators violence is usually seen as a problem, and various measures are taken to reduce its occurrence.
In the United Kingdom an innovative approach is being tried at Europe’s largest youth prison, Hindley Young Offenders’ Institution in northwestern England. The BBC recently covered the story of Willow, a unit within the prison that focuses its efforts on the most troublesome youngsters. According to the report,
“[y]oung people in custody are almost 10 times more likely than adults to get involved in a fight or serious assault behind bars.”
Willow is an experimental unit that houses only eleven boys. In their new quarters the staffing levels are tripled, access to mental health care and substance abuse treatment is greater, and they are allowed more time out of their cells. The boys get more of the individualized attention they need, and other youth are protected from their violent behaviors. The unit has been guardedly viewed as successful, and others like it are planned for other youth prisons in England and Wales.
Critics, like theHoward League for Penal Reform, contend that Willow is an attempt to find a cheap alternative to the solutions that reformers favor, including secure children’s homes and hospitalization. They view the unit as a simplistic and ineffective solution. Prison staff admits that one of the benchmarks they are aiming for is not a reduction in recidivism, but instead a lessening of the severity of offenses inmates on Willow might commit in the future. Some seventy five percent of the inmates at Hindley are expected to reoffend, and the percentage is likely higher for the kids in Willow.
As in all confinement situations, cost is a limiting factor controlling why the more intense and focused delivery of services, including security personnel to ensure safety, cannot be delivered to the entire population. One solution, increasingly popular due to economic woes, is to decrease the number of youth incarcerated to an absolute minimum. By so doing scarce resources can be focused on the most problematic children.
Featured Image Credit: Alamy via The Guardian