London young offenders’ institution branded UK’s most violent

A desperate, depressing epithet –  the country’s “most violent” prison. Deemed that at a time when there’s grimly strong competition, with violence rife in so many of the UK’s jails.

The description of life at Feltham Young Offenders would be more shocking were it not just the latest in a string of official reports highlighting an entire system in crisis.

But it’s still shocking enough when you consider the detail. The Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, said that conditions at Feltham had deteriorated significantly since his last inspection two years ago. And that was not from a particularly high base.

Now the children and young people there – the youngest just 15 – appear surrounded by violence inside a state run institution, designed to remove them from the spiral of violence they’d been trapped in, outside.

343 weapons were found in the past 12 months. Feltham’s home to just 84 young men.

Incidents of disorder went up 300 per cent.

The use of force – mainly in response to the violence – went up by 68 per cent.

And all of that despite what the Inspector acknowledged was some good work by some dedicated staff.

The impact on the staff of course is enormous. What about the impact on the young people themselves? (and it goes without saying, of course they are hugely challenging young people who  have inflicted violence on others and often are victims of it too.)

Self harm is spiralling. There was a “concerning” use of segregation – several children held there for 50 days, two for more than 100 days. A third of their year spent almost entirely alone.

Some young offenders were turning down visits from family because they didn’t want their loved ones exposed to the fighting and aggression they are living with seemingly constantly.

So much for the problem – what about the solution?

Well that falls now to the new government.

It’s already had to move on another issue crippling the prison estate – overcrowding. The new Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmoud, announced controversial plans to accelerate early release, at the end of last week.

She will be pressed to move quickly on the issue of violence in the youth estate too. The Prison Officers Association will be lobbying hard to authorise the use of PAVA spray, an incapacitant, in places like Feltham, when they meet her on Thursday.

The Ministry of Justice told us that staff at Feltham were working hard to implement improvements and reduce violence and that the government is committed to providing support to help children in the youth estate turn their lives around.

The scale of the challenge is enormous – perhaps even overwhelming.

The children and young people living in places like Feltham with violence and fear, and little chance of education or rehabilitation in the current climate, will move into an adult estate, bursting at the seams, in jails sometimes running with rats and mice, drugs, violence and corruption, defeating their very purpose at every turn.

There are few votes in prison. Many giving credit to the new government for pledging to tackle this issue from the moment they took power.

How successful they will be – well you wish them luck.