Young offenders report ‘initiation’
One in eight young inmates has been put through an initiation ceremony by their fellow prisoners, according to a new report from the Prisons Inspectorate.
The survey found that 12 per cent of boys and 13 per cent of girls have participated in the ceremonies, which can include attacking staff, committing sexual acts or causing vandalism to the institution itself.
The report also revealed a wide variation in the perception of safety whilst in custody. In the best scoring institution, seven per cent of girls felt under threat, while in the worst, 89 per cent felt unsafe.
Ethnic minorities were also found to suffer from more assaults than their white counterparts and only half felt that they had been treated well when they arrived at a youth offenders’ institution, compared with over two thirds of white inmates.
The report also showed that ethnic minorities suffer double the instances of verbal assaults than white offenders do.
Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said that the Government should take immediate action on the report.
Ms Lyon, said: “If the Government wants children and young people to leave these institutions less, not more, likely to offend and in a fit state to lead responsible lives, it must take immediate action to bring prisons where children, especially those from black and minority groups, report racism, neglect and victimization into line with those where children feel safe and staff help to prepare them for release”.
