Book review: 'In the care of the state? Child Deaths in Penal Custody in England and Wales'  

IN THE CARE OF THE STATE? Child Deaths in Penal Custody in England and Wales

Barry Goldson and Deborah Coles

ISBN 0 9468 5819 5 INQUEST

During the period from January 2000 and May 2005 28 children died in Young Offender Institutions, Secure Training Centres or whilst otherwise being held in adult prisons in England and Wales. Furthermore, in the four year period from 1998 to 2002 there were 1,659 recorded incidents of self-harm or attempted suicide in penal custody by children.

In a climate where prison numbers are continuing to rise In the Care of the State - Child Deaths in Penal Custody in England and Wales is a publication of interest to all concerned about state accountablility within penal institutions generally and more specifically in what Goldson and Coles refer to as the 'Juvenile Secure Estate'.

The authors combine analysis of comprehensive academic research and official publications with deep insights borne from several decades of frontline experience and involvement with the plethora of issues raised. Such an approach enables the book to be relevant and accessible to a range of audiences, be they academic, involved in policy-making or drawn towards the issues through direct personal experience.

The authors set out facts, consider recommendations and then move on to make clear demands with regard to a practical and immediate way forward. These include the calls for a public inquiry into the suicide of Joseph Scholes, aged 16 in HMYOI Stoke Heath in March 2002, a comprehensive review of child deaths in penal custody and the establishment of an independent 'Standing Commission on Custodial Deaths'.

Joseph Scholes was troubled youngster with a history of self-harming behaviour who had become involved with the criminal courts which resulted in a custodial sentence for robbery. Despite the expressed concerns of professionals with whom he was engaged and clear warnings by himself, Joseph took his own life, by hanging, in his prison cell just nine days into his sentence. The call for a public inquiry into Joseph's death arose from campaigning and was bolstered by the exceptional action of the Coroner in writing to the Home Secretary recommending the same. Despite an Early Day Motion in Parliament and further pressure, the Government has so far refused to order such an inquiry.

As with the inquiry into the treatment of young people in care homes in North Wales (see footnote 1), the comprehensive review of child deaths called for would also provide the opportunity for rigorous public scrutiny into the decision-making processes, systems of control and day to day realities of those whose welfare is entrusted to the state. It may also enable scrutiny of the wider context of incarceration, including the economics and associated priorities of systems established as a consequence of the involvement of private finance into whole swathes of necessary state provision.

The recommended Standing Commission 'would serve to look beyond individual cases and/or particular state agencies... and engage with child penal deaths on a more holistic or collective basis' given the recognised common issues linking deaths and which transcend the remits of specific government departments/agencies. A number of suggestions as to the remit of the Commission are made, including the power to intervene as an interested party in inquests, to identify common issues, to publish and to develop best practice.

The authors' approach is notable for being at every stage factual, passionate and non-judgmental, and this is important in a climate of creeping anxiety around young people, routinely expressed in the press and popular culture, and which draws upon familiar seams of prejudice.

Although the majority of deaths have been the result of desperate and lonely actions by individuals the authors are careful to recount in detail the restraint death of Gareth Myatt aged 15, an individual whose death reflects, in the child statistics, the long-standing recognition of the over-representation of black people in restraint deaths.

Increasing numbers of young people are of course now being pushed towards custody through the use of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders and the urgency of the issues raised quite simply cannot be underestimated.

The publication provides an invaluable source of statistics for those seeking to campaign around the issues raised and the comprehensive bibliography will be useful to those seeking to deepen their understanding of the same. The review of shifts in youth justice law and policy is also enlightening and conveys clearly how fact and reason so often play a secondary role to the need of politicians to assuage what is perceived to be relevant public opinion.

In the Care of the State is both significant and timely in that it will further understanding of issues within, and beyond, activist networks and academic conferences. It is important reading, especially in the coming months as the pressure for the public inquiry into Joseph Scholes' death is renewed and begins to build.

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Footonte: (1) Lost in Care - Report of the Tribunal of Inquiry into the abuse of children in care in the former County Council areas of Gwynedd and Clwyd since 1974.

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Quick links

> www.inquest.org.uk

> Family of child who died in prison to challenge government's refusal to set up a public inquiry - Inquest press release, 14th July 2006

> Parliamentary briefing on child deaths in custody - Inquest press release, 28th June 2006