Young Offenders: Solitary Confinement

(asked on 24th April 2018) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the (a) number of instances of, (b) average length of time and (c) average number of hours per day people aged 18 were held in solitary confinement in the youth secure estate in (i) England and (ii) Wales since 2010.


Answered by
Phillip Lee Portrait
Phillip Lee
This question was answered on 2nd May 2018

The safety and welfare of young people held in custody is one of our highest priorities and is fundamental to the proper functioning of our justice system. We are committed to reforming youth custody so that it is safer for both young people and staff and better equipped to help young people turn their lives around.

There are some occasions, when young people in custody are putting themselves or others at risk, during which segregation can be used as a last resort for limited periods of time when no other form of intervention is suitable.

Any decision to remove a young person from association is subject to regular review and a range of safeguarding measures are in place to ensure appropriate oversight of their care. There are careful limits placed on the length of time for which young people can be removed from association without review of the decision to remove.

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