PRT comment: HMIP report on children in custody

Commenting on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons thematic report on Children in Custody 2015–16: an analysis of 12 to 18-year-olds’ perceptions of their experience in secure training centres and young offender institutions, Peter Dawson, Director of the Prison Reform Trust, said:

“This worrying annual survey shows why the government was right to ask Charlie Taylor to conduct a fundamental review of how we look after the children we still send to prison. But it also shows why a response to that report, completed 5 months ago, is badly overdue as the situation gets worse not better. Investing in these young damaged lives can only pay dividends for the future – the warning signs of further delay could not be any clearer.”