A high level of violence inside Cookham Wood youth jail, including 61 assaults and 92 fights within just six months, reflects systemic problems in young offenders institutions across England, prison inspectors have warned.
Nick Hardwick, the chief inspector of prisons, said concerns have grown about conditions inside Cookham Wood YOI, which holds 166 boys, most of whom are 16 or 17 years old.
The highly critical report of the Kent facility comes 10 days after the justice secretary, Michael Gove, ordered a review of the effectiveness of the youth justice system after a sharp decline in the number of under-18s in custody.
The results of the latest inspection of Cookham Wood carried out in May reveal a high level of violence, some involving very serious attacks by gangs of inmates on a single boy, and the use of improvised weapons such as sharpened cutlery and items placed in socks. One wing search uncovered 15 such weapons.
The inspectors report that an increasing number of boys needed hospital treatment for head injuries sustained by their attackers jumping on their heads. Assaults on staff had almost doubled since the previous inspection, with 21 in the previous six months, some resulting in serious injury.
They also say they witnessed little challenge by staff to low-level poor behaviour, which was allowed to escalate. On one wing during their night visit, inspectors witnessed “boys shouting very aggressively out of their doors” and in effect holding a “kangaroo court” over one boy. This went unchallenged by staff until the inspectors insisted on something being done.
Force had been used to restrain the boys on more than 400 occasions in six months, compared with 282 in the period leading up to the previous inspection in May 2014. Staff used techniques to inflict pain but not all occasions were logged. There were also extensive and complex “keep apart” lists that severely restricted access to education and other activities.
In one incident, a boy was restrained for refusing to leave a room following a review into whether he was at risk of harming himself. Three boys had required hospital treatment after being restrained.
The numberof boys held in YOIs across England and Wales has fallen from almost 3,000 in 2008/09 to fewer than 1,200 this year. Hardwick says the profile of those now held in youth jails is much more challenging, with, for the first time, about 10% of boys having been convicted of or charged with murder or manslaughter, and as a result facing many years in prison.
The challenges involved in managing such teenage boys were compounded by the fact that 25% of the staff were on “detached duty” – drafted in from other prisons – and many of them did not know the work, the institution or the boys.
“Cookham Wood reflects the systemic problems we have identified across the YOI estate,” said Hardwick. “The welcome fall in numbers of children in custody means that those who remain represent a more concentrated mix of very challenging young people held in a smaller number of establishments that are increasingly unsuitable to meet their needs, and cared for by a staff group beset by shortages and a lack of training for their complex and demanding role.”
The chief inspector of prisons said a much wider political and policy response was needed than simply improving Cookham Wood in order to care for “our most damaged children” safely.
Michael Spurr, the chief executive of the National Offender Management Service, said since the inspection staff numbers had increased “a new education contract has been introduced; staff have been trained in new restraint techniques and safeguarding measures have been strengthened, all of which have had a positive impact on safety and behaviour.
“Tackling violence and providing a safe environment remains the governor’s biggest challenge and top priority and work will continue to improve standards even further.”
