Calls to release children in custody as coronavirus regime change could 'drive up self-harm’

'There is no doubt that increased staff sickness will lead to more children spending extended periods isolated in their cells with the ever present risk of self-harm and suicide,' states letter to Robert Buckland

As is the case across the penal estate, child prisons have cancelled visits from relatives, social workers and lawyers, and education and offending behaviour interventions have stopped (Getty)

Ministers are facing calls to grant early release to children in custody amid concerns that restrictive measures introduced as a result of coronavirus could drive up self-harm among young inmates.

A series of letters to the justice secretary from high-profile charities call on ministers to consider early release for certain groups in youth custody in order to reduce pressure on the secure estate during the pandemic.

As is the case across the penal estate, child prisons have cancelled visits from relatives, social workers and lawyers, and education and offending behaviour interventions have stopped.

Youth offenders are now spending extended time locked alone in their cells and this is likely to increase over the coming weeks, with fears many will locked alone in their cells for 22 hours or more each day.

Campaigners said the combined effect of staff shortages due to illness and self-isolation, the ban on prison visits, the increased period spent in cells and fears about the virus among children would likely leads to increased risk of self-harm.

There are currently fewer than 800 children detained in young offender institutions and secure training centres.

A letter to Robert Buckland from the Children’s Commissioner said all children with underlying health conditions which make them susceptible to Covid-19 should be considered for early release.

Anne Longfield also called for a review of the status of all children due to be released in the next six months, as well as children aged under 14 and those who have committed non-violent offences.

“While any decision to release a child early has to take into account the potential impact this has on the rest of the system, there are very serious, imminent risks to the safety and welfare of children in the secure estate,” she said.

“I am concerned that for those children who remain in custody, the high levels of anxiety about the virus, as well as the impact of serious curtailment of regime will negatively impact their mental health and may drive up levels of violence and self-harm.

“I believe that reducing the number of children in custody is the only way of managing youth custody settings in a safe manner during this crisis.”

Children’s charity Article 39, in a separate letter to Mr Buckland, demanded that ministers make arrangements to release, and stop admitting, children who can be safely supervised and looked after within the community.

“Prisons struggle to meet children’s needs in ordinary circumstances. There is no doubt that increased staff sickness will lead to more children spending extended periods isolated in their cells with the ever present risk of self-harm and suicide,” the letter states.

“The injurious effects of long-term confinement on children’s health are well-documented, as well as the impact this can have on their stress levels and behaviour […] These are exceptional times which warrant extraordinary political leadership.”

Despite the fact that government guidance states children should only be remanded to custody as a last resort, around 240 minors are currently in custody on remand in England and Wales – around two thirds of whom will not subsequently receive a custodial sentence.

The Children’s Commissioner said the suspension of criminal trials had left these children in “indefinite limbo” and that reducing the number of children who are remanded in custody would immediately reduce pressure on the secure estate during the pandemic.

The Howard League for Penal Reform said judges and magistrates should be encouraged to ensure that any decision to remand a child to custody should be subject to “anxious scrutiny” in light of the virus and only if there are “wholly exceptional circumstances”.

The charity said that only this week, it had been made aware that a child with underlying respiratory and mental health problems had been remanded to a young offender Institution after two days in police custody.

In a letter to Mr Buckland, the charity wrote: “It is simply not appropriate or safe to expect young offender institutions to be able to care for such children at this time. If children absolutely must be remanded, they should be sent only to secure children’s homes."

Carolyne Willow, director of Article 39, said: “It’s unconscionable that in a global pandemic a civilised society would keep hundreds of children incarcerated in institutions which in normal times are unable to keep them properly fed, safe and occupied.

“But this is not just about protecting children from serious harm; we’re also extremely worried about the risks to prison staff, their families and the wider community. These exceptional times demand standout political leadership across all parts of government: children who can be safely looked after in the community must be released.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We appreciate that this is a worrying time for offenders and their families. All young people can contact their families using in cell-phones and have access to 24-hour healthcare as well as one-to-one support.”