Howard League welcomes review of girls in the youth estate

The Howard League for Penal Reform has welcomed news of the Ministry of Justice’s upcoming independent review of the placement of girls in the children and young people’s secure estate announced today (Thursday 7 November).

The Minister for Youth Justice Sir Nic Dakin has commissioned Susannah Hancock to lead an independent review looking into current placement options and care for girls in the youth estate. The review will take place from November 2024 and report back in three months.

Girls in the estate are held in settings including secure children’s homes, a secure school, Oakhill Secure Training Centre and HMYOI Wetherby. Although girls make up less than 2% of the youth estate, they are often highly vulnerable and have multiple complex needs. Official figures seen by the Howard League for Penal Reform one week ago revealed that girls were involved in 55% of all self-harm incidents in the secure children and young people’s estate.

In March of this year a distressing report from HM Inspectorate of Prisons detailed the forced-stripping and restraint of a girl by male staff at boys’ prison Wetherby, leading to a campaign from the Howard League urging the government to remove girls from the prison and establish a long-term strategy on the needs of girls in custody.

Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.), Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “Earlier this year the Howard League launched a campaign calling for girls to be moved out of wholly inappropriate placements at Wetherby prison. We have held many meetings subsequently with both ministers and officials in the Youth Custody Service, urging them to address the issue.

“After the election we wrote to the new government emphasising our concerns and calling on ministers to establish a proper review of the ongoing placement of girls. We therefore welcome the news that this is exactly what the Ministry of Justice has now announced will take place.

“Girls in contact with the criminal justice system deserve much better. The Howard League stands ready to contribute to the review’s investigations and we look forward to engaging with Susannah Hancock and her team in the coming weeks.”

Notes to editors

1. The Howard League for Penal Reform is the oldest penal reform charity in the world. It is a national charity working for less crime, safer communities and fewer people in prison.
2. The announcement on the independent review of the placement of girls in the children and young people’s secure estate can be found on the Ministry of Justice website: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/susannah-hancock-to-lead-independent-review-into-girls-in-custody
3. In March 2024, HM Inspectorate of Prisons published a report on Wetherby, a prison in West Yorkshire holding boys and girls as young as 15. The report found that children had been forcibly stripped and subjected to pain-inducing restraint by prison staff without adequate oversight or accountability. On two occasions, all-male teams of officers forcibly restrained a girl to remove her clothing to prevent her self-harming. You can find more on this report and the Howard League campaign to move girls out of Wetherby on our website: https://howardleague.org/move-girls-out-of-wetherby-prison/
4. Our Howard League blog, For too long, girls have been an afterthought in a failing criminal justice system, provides more information on girls in the criminal justice system and the impact of the Howard League campaign to move girls out of Wetherby: https://howardleague.org/blog/for-too-long-girls-have-been-an-afterthought-in-a-failing-criminal-justice-system/
5. The Ministry of Justice statistical bulletin, Safety in the Children and Young People Secure Estate: Update to June 2024, showing rates of self-harm in the secure children and young people’s estate can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-the-children-and-young-people-secure-estate-update-to-june-2024

Contact

Noor Khan
Press and Public Affairs Officer
Tel: +44 (0)20 7241 7873
Email: noor.khan@howardleague.org