Nacro responds to quarterly MoJ data on the rate of self-harm among children in custody and the rate of adults recalled to prison.
Enver Solomon, Chief Executive of Nacro comments on rates of self harm among children in custody:
“These figures raise serious concerns. With self‑harm among children in custody rising by almost a third in a year, and the youngest children harming themselves at alarming rates, it is clear custody causes serious harm to some of the most traumatised children in our society. Â
“Most children in custody have experienced violence, abuse and neglect long before they ever offend. Instead of addressing that trauma, the system too often makes things worse.
“Custody must be a genuine last resort. The Government should act quickly to reform the youth justice system – closing large, unsafe institutions and replacing them with small, child focused safe and secure homes. That is how you give a child a real chance to turn their life around.”
Enver Solomon, Chief Executive of Nacro comments on scale of recall:
“The scale of recall raises some serious concerns. Nearly 48,500 people were sent back to prison last year – the highest number on record – with recalls up almost 30 per cent in a year. For most, this was not because they committed a new crime. Four in five recalls are for things such as failing to attend appointments or losing contact with probation staff.Â
“When people leave prison without a safe place to live and without proper support systems in place to address their addiction or mental health issues, keeping to licence conditions can be difficult and recall will become inevitable for some.
“Sending people back to prison when the support required is not in place is a failure, in a system that already costs £23 billion a year for reoffending.
Providing the rehabilitation needed to avoid returning to crime is how the cycle of reoffending is broken which then helps create safer communities and supports people to genuinely turn their lives around.”
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