I have visited several youth prisons in Spain to explore models for urgently needed reforms in Britain (Tough love, Weekend, 8 November). Inside the prison gates in Spain, almost all the adults in sight are professionally qualified teachers, whose primary purpose is to prepare the children for crime-free adulthood, acceptance by their families and readmission to their local schools, preferably even before final discharge from custody.
What a contrast to Britain, with its under-trained and under-paid prison officers and misguided focus. The system here fails most young offenders as well as the wider community, with 73% being reconvicted within 12 months of discharge. In Spain it is a fraction of this.
Despite the examples of good and successful practice in many EU member states, I am ashamed to say that the Ministry of Justice and Youth Justice Board plan to build a giant, 600-place prison or “secure college” in the East Midlands, at which most of the children will be detained hundreds of miles from home. Do they never learn?
John Plummer
London
• Paul McDowell’s position as the chief inspector of probation is unsustainable (Grayling pledge over probation conflict of interest fears). His inspectorate is charged with assessing the performance of Sodexo in its new role of supervising thousands of offenders. He may send in inspectors other than himself to assess the performance of his wife’s company, but the final report on Sodexo is the chief inspector’s, just as when Nick Hardwick reports on a prison inspection. He cannot escape the charge of personal interest, whatever the outcome of a Sodexo inspection.
Grayling needs to be squeaky-clean at the outset of these fundamental changes in managing offenders; letting McDowell remain in post looks like an early own goal of his own making.
John Harding
Winchester
