Inspectors’ review reveals why allowing PAVA spray in prisons holding children is the wrong move

The Howard League for Penal Reform has responded to HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ report, Building trust: the importance of positive relationships in young offender institutions, published today (Tuesday 10 June).

The thematic review, based on visits to three prisons holding children, reveals that children have little opportunity to build vital relationships with staff that can help them to move on from crime. Children are often locked up for long periods of time and eat largely alone in their cells, and there are few spaces for them to talk privately to staff.

Inspectors visited children and staff at Parc, Werrington and Wetherby prisons as part of the review. They found that at Werrington and Wetherby, the schemes intended to build positive relationships were poorly implemented and ineffective. 

Most children told inspectors that they were unable to have a meaningful weekly conversation with a member of staff they knew; at Werrington and Wetherby, not a single child had received the weekly support meeting (the ‘Custody Support Plan or ‘CuSP’ meeting) that they were entitled to.

A Framework for Integrated Care was introduced in 2016 to improve the care of children in custody but appears to have had little impact.  The review found that most officers had received training or had some understanding of it. But the approach had been poorly implemented and many officers said they were not able, or had too little time, to access information that would help them understand the needs of each child.

The report comes two months after the Howard League revealed that children in prisons in England were typically being kept in their cells for about 20 hours a day and receiving less than 15 hours of education per week. Ministry of Justice figures obtained by the charity showed that Werrington, Wetherby and Feltham prisons had failed routinely to deliver enough purposeful activity during the week, with children spending even longer in their cells at weekends.

Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.), Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “If a child must be in a secure environment, it is vital that they have positive relationships with well-trained staff who can help them to move on from crime and lead a healthy life. But children in prison are being locked up for hours on end without the help they need.

“The Youth Custody Service’s failure to properly implement its own framework for integrated care is of great concern, and it underlines why the government’s plan to roll out PAVA spray into prisons in England holding children is a terrible step in the wrong direction.

“When PAVA spray was piloted in prisons holding adults, evaluation findings showed that it had a detrimental impact on relationships. Children in prison are already lacking care and support from adults they trust – why on earth are ministers about to permit the use of this weapon on children?”

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 thematic report, Building trust: the importance of positive relationships in young offender institutions, will be available on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website at: https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/our-reports/  

3.     In May, the Howard League sent a letter before claim to the Secretary of State for Justice, challenging as unlawful her decision to make PAVA spray available for use in prisons holding children. The Howard League is awaiting the government’s lawyers detailed response. For more information, read this press release, issued on 20 May: https://howardleague.org/news/howard-league-launches-legal-challenge-against-introduction-of-pava-to-prisons-holding-children/  

4.     In April, the Howard League revealed that children in prisons in England were typically being kept in their cells for about 20 hours a day and receiving less than 15 hours of education per week. For more information, read this press release, issued on 7 April: https://howardleague.org/news/revealed-the-prisons-keeping-children-locked-in-their-cells-for-hours-on-end/     

Contact 

Noor Khan
Press and Public Affairs Officer
Tel: +44 (0)20 7241 7873
Email: [email protected]