NCJ Number
212190
Date Published
2005
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This report presents the strategy and plans of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) of England and Wales for managing children and youth committed to secure facilities ("secure estate"); plans are for the years 2005-06 and 2007-08.
Abstract
Principles that underlie the strategy and planning for youth in custody are that custody should be used only as a last resort; the punishment of custody is in the loss of liberty only and not in the nature of the conditions of custody; since secure facilities are expensive to build or renovate, changes in the number and design of these facilities must occur gradually; the regimes and interventions provided in custody should be based on empirical evidence of what is effective in preventing reoffending; and the rights of youth in custody must be respected and upheld. Under a strategy for fulfilling these principles, plans for reconfiguring the secure estate for youth for 2005-06 to 2007-08 will address the following problems: the uneven distribution of juvenile secure facilities across England and Wales; an excessive number of juvenile facilities with large, traditional cell-block designs on sites shared with adult prisoners; a staff inadequately trained in positive, youth-centered care and management; and the lack of high-quality vocational and academic education and training. The plan will not only remedy these circumstances in secure facilities but will also focus on expanding the number and quality of community-based programs for young offenders who do not require secure custody as well as those youth who are released into the community from secure custody.