- Jessica was 15 when found guilty of shoplifting and sent
to Holloway prison in London. For six weeks, she shared a cell with three
women and was allowed to shower only a couple of times a week.
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- "The experience made me very depressed," said
18-year-old Jessica (not her real name), who lives in Norwich with her
three-and-a-half-year-old daughter.
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- "I had no one to talk to and felt very threatened,
very intimidated ... Teenage girls feel vulnerable and shouldn't be in
adult prisons."
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- Every year thousands of children such as Jessica are
locked up in British jails, secure training centres or young offender institutes.
Many have been sexually abused, a high number exhibit signs of severe mental
illness and more than half are already known by social services.
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- Next week, new figures will show that there has been
a 90 per cent increase in the use of child custody over the past decade
and an eight-fold increase in the numbers of children under the age of
15 jailed. A report published by Nacro - formerly the National Association
for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders - will reveal that in 2001,
7,600 offenders under the age of 18 and 800 under the age of 15 were jailed.
This compares with 4,000 under 18 and 100 under 15 in 1992.
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- Nacro blames the rise in the number of children deprived
of their liberty on the Government's "love affair" with custody
and is calling for more community-based sentences for teenagers.
-
- Last month, Anne Owers, the chief inspector of prisons,
called on the Government to outlaw the jailing of girls in adult prisons
in an interview with The Independent on Sunday. Of particular concern is
the alarming rate of self-harm among young people under 18, especially
female inmates.
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- Between 1998 and 2002 there were more than 1,000 incidents
of attempted suicide and self-abuse by children in prisons. Between 1998
and 2002, 12 boys, all aged between 16 and 17, killed themselves while
in custody.
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- A snapshot report in December 2002 revealed that between
15 and 20 boys a week were being sent to young offender institutions because
of lack of space elsewhere. Figures from the Youth Justice Board, which
is responsible for young offenders, show there are 88 girls aged between
16 and 18 being held in women's jails, either on remand or after being
sentenced.
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- In Holloway prison, according to a report published in
February this year, there were 13 girls under 18 being held there in July
last year, including three who were pregnant.
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- At Styal prison, in Cheshire, there have been six suicides
over the past 12 months, including that of 18-year-old Sarah Campbell,
who had a history of depression.
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- The Howard League is currently pursuing a High Court
test case against David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, on behalf of a 16-year-old
girl who was taken out of a secure unit and put into classes with adult
women at Eastwood Park prison in Gloucestershire. The league said the Prison
Service was breaking the law by holding children with adults. "Our
view is that under-18s should not be held in prison at all," said
Frances Crook, director of the league.
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- © 2003 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
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- http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/story.jsp?story=441021
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