Reports
| Published date | 01 October 1993 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059304000318 |
| Date | 01 October 1993 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
162
REPORTS
r..,. , ,
Though
the
Criminal
Justice
Act
1991
included
provisions
to
end
the
remanding
of
juveniles
to
prison
service
establishments,
the
residual
power
for
courts
to
do
so
when
this
is
considered
necessary
’to
protect
the
public
from
serious
harm’
has
contributed
to
a
worrying
increase
in
prison
remand
since
October
1992.
The
biggest
increase
occurred
in
the
early
months
of
1993
when
considerable
media
attention
to
juvenile
offending
may
have
hardened
judicial
attitudes,.
Awaiting
Trial:
Final
Report
(June
1993,
£4
plus
50p
postage)
by
NACRO
and
the
Association
of
Chief
Officers
of
Probation
reports
a
survey
of
juveniles
remanded
in
custody
between
April
1992
and
March
1993.
Of
566
juveniles
remanded
between
October
and
March,
35%
were
15
and
65%
were
aged
16.
Approximately
50%
were
remanded
from
courts
other than
youth
courts.
Saturday
occasional
courts
seem
a
particular
source
of
juvenile
remands.
The
predominant
offence
was
burglary,
accounting
for
40%
of
known
alleged
offences.
Motor-related
offences
accounted
for
23 %
of
remands,
a
leap
from
9 %
in
1990.
Black
young
people
were
over-represented
in
custody,
9 %a
being
African-Caribbean.
In
Birmingham,
53 %
of
remanded
young
people
were
black
or
Asian,
as
were
38%
of
those
remanded
to
Feltham
Remand
Centre
by
London
courts.
Among
the
report’s
recommendations:
Local
Authorities
and
Probation
Services
should
be
under
a
statutory
obligation
to
provide
bail
information
and
bail
support
schemes
for
the
under-18s.
0
There
should
be
a
statutory
70
day
time
limit
for
the
remand
of
young
people
under
18.
0 A
National
Standard
for
the
juvenile
remand
process
should
be
introduced.
0
Social
Services
should
have
specialist
teams
covering
all
aspects
of
work
with
young
people
in
trouble
with
the
law,
with
at
least
one
specialist
post
focusing
on
remands.
.
Courts
other
than
youth
courts
should
remand
young
people
to
local
authority
accommodation
until
the
next
available
youth
court.
0
Better
services
for
black
young
people
to
ensure
non-discriminatory
practice.
,
»
~,
&dquo;
,
.a
~
..
How
do
mentally
disturbed
people
cope
in
a
busy
local
prison?
Between
February
and
April
1992,
NACRO’s
Mental
Health
Unit
interviewed
staff
and
prisoners
at
Winson
Green
Prison,
Birmingham,
intended
to
cater
for
575
prisoners
but
with
an
actual
population
of
995
at
the
time
of
the
study.
The
prison
is
not
organised
to
deal
appropriately
with
mentally
disturbed
prisoners
(MDPs):
a
half
of
staff
felt
that
the
Prison
and
the
Prison
Service
generally
had
specific
policies
relating
to
MDPs
whereas
there
is
merely
a
set
of
suicide
prevention
procedures;
the
reception
process
includes
only
cursory
screening
and
no
adequate
medical
or
psychiatric
assessment;
the
’hospital’
(now
health
care
centre)
is
too
small,
basic
and
under-resourced;
routines
tend
to
manage
rather
than
care
for
MDPs;
staff
have
little
or
no
relevant
training
but
would
welcome
this
opportunity;
the
role
of
outside
psychiatric
expertise
is
very
limited.
As
a
consequence,
prisoners
reported
being
frightened
for
their
own
safety
and
wellbeing,
coping
in
confined
circumstances
with
very
disturbed
fellow
To continue reading
Request your trial