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Children in prison doubles in ten years
January 24, 2003 12:00 AM
Liberal Democrat Shadow Social Services Spokesman Paul Burstow MP will today (Thursday 24th January 2003) revealed new figures that show the number of children under the age of 18 held in prisons has doubled in the last 10 years and risen by 25% since Labour came into power.
Mr Burstow will use the new Youth Question Time (24th January 2003) time to challenge Ministers to ensure the Prison Service complies with the High Court ruling that children in jail are entitled to benefit from laws designed to protect all young people from harm.
Paul Burstow said:-
"The Government is locking up more and more children. Report after report from the Chief Inspector of Prisons has raised concerns about the safety of children in our prison system.
"It is a scandal that the Government had to be dragged to court to be forced to accept that the responsibilities of social services for the welfare and protection of children does not stop at the prison gate.
"The UK signed up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child but when it comes to imprisoning children in adult prisons the Government is flouting the convention by continuing to house some children in adult prisons. Ministers must make a clear commitment to fully comply with the UN Convention."
ENDS
Notes to editors
Children in Prison
13 Jan 2003 : Column 451W
Hilary Benn [holding answer 7 January 2003]: The number of people under the age of 18 held in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales in the past 10 years is as follows. Information is shown as at 30 June each year.
INCREASE IN CHILD PRISONONERS IN ADULT PRISONS SINCE 1992
YEAR Number of under 18s in Adult Prisons %age increase
since 1992 %age increase since
Labour came to power
1992 1,328
1993 1,304
1994 1,526
1995 1,675
1996 2,093
1997 2,479
1998 2,466
1999 2,422
2000 2,434
2001 2,448
2002 2,609 96.46 24.65
• On the 29th November 2002, in a landmark decision, a judge ruled on Friday that Home Office claims that the 1989 Children Act did not apply to children in custody were "wrong in law". The Act places social services and other official bodies under a duty to care for the needs of under 18s held in young offender institutions (YOIs) or other prison service establishments. The Howard League charity for prison reform applied for the judicial review because of concern about what it believed to be "the consistently poor treatment of children in some prisons".
• The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989 and came into force 2 September 1990. Article 37(c), which the UK Government has opted out of states :-
"Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age. In particular, every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child's best interest not to do so and shall have the right to maintain contact with his or her family through correspondence and visits, save in exceptional circumstances"
Paul Burstow MP has also tabled the following Parliamentary Motion which has been signed by 35 Members from all parties
That this House regrets that the number of children in prison has doubled in a decade to stand at 2,609 in 2002, far more than any other European country; notes that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed serious concern at the high and increasing numbers of children in custody at earlier ages for lesser offences; further regrets the Government's failure to drop their reservation to article 37(c) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; notes that, in two years 296 chldren sustained injuries following restraint and control in prison; further notes with concern that since 1997, 93 young people have committed suicide while in custody; regrets that many of the children in custody are the casualties of an under-resourced and over-pressured children protection system; believes that custody should be a measure of last resort; welcomes the High Court ruling in favour of the Howard League that the Children Act 1989 applies fully to children in prison and young offender institutions; and calls on the Government to meet its obligations under the UN convention and fully comply with the High Court ruling.
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