Self-harm and restraint incidents in youth custody hit five-year excessive, figures present

The extent of self-harm and the reluctance of children in youth-safe possession are at their highest level in five years, new figures show.

New Youth justice statistics for 2019/20, published by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) and the Department of Justice (MoJ) show that incidents of restrictive physical interventions rose 19 percent over the past year to around 7,500 incidents.

More than 5,000 incidents involved the use of pain-causing techniques, as recorded on record.

Of the reluctant people, 29 percent of children were officially reported as disabled, compared with 24 percent in 2018/19.

In around 45 cases, one child had to receive medical treatment after restraint, with two children being hospitalized from facilities for juvenile juvenile offenders in Feltham and Wetherby respectively.

A warning sign that included difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness and vomiting was recorded in 251 cases, statistics show.

The number of incidents of self-harm has now risen by 35 percent to around 2,500 compared to the previous year.

62/20 self-harm injuries required medical treatment in 2019/20, with 69 children requiring hospital treatment, compared to 39 in 2018/19.

For both self-harm and incidents with reluctance, the numbers are at their highest level in five years, as the numbers show.

The increase has come despite the fact that the number of children warned or convicted has decreased by 82 percent over the past 10 years, compared with a 12 percent decrease in the last year.

In 2019/20, around 11,100 first-time beginners were registered in the YJS – an increase of 84 percent compared to the end of December 2009 and 12 percent less than in 2018.

In 2019/20, 38.5 percent of children and young people with an earlier conviction were insulted again – this shows a decrease of 0.2 percentage points compared to 2018/19. However, the number is higher than a decade ago (37.7 percent).

The report also highlights the disproportionality in juvenile justice.

It says: “The proportion of warned or convicted black children has increased in the last 10 years and is now twice as high as in the year up to March 2010 (12 percent compared to six percent).”

It adds that “10 percent more Asian children were warned or convicted than last year (around 1,200), the first increase in 10 years and the only ethnic group to see an increase in the past year. ”

The numbers refer to incidents between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020, a period largely unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic.

They are concerned about isolating children in their cells for up to 23.5 hours a day.

The Rainsbrook Secure Training Center received an urgent notice from MoJ about improvements in this practice.

Carolyne Willow, Director of Child Legal Aid Article 39, said: “Behind these statistics are hundreds of particularly vulnerable children who are desperate, anxious, anxious and angry and a prison system that simply cannot meet their needs.

“Four years ago the government committed to phasing out facilities for juvenile offenders and securing training centers. However, we are still waiting for a closing program and strategy to achieve this.

“The fact that techniques that cause pain in children were used 5,261 times in the past year in eight institutions, either directly operated by the state or commissioned by the government, is a flaw in our system of child protection. If adults who deliberately harm children are wrong in families, schools, and children’s homes, so must be wrong for children in prison. We cannot have a two tier child protection system. “