Abstract
The UK is often portrayed as a leader in the field of human rights and progressive, humane policies. For example, the UK played important roles in the establishment of major human rights conventions including the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Yet despite a significant reduction in recent years in the number of young people in custody in England and Wales, the UK still imprisons large numbers of children by international standards. Further, young people who are detained are highly vulnerable, exposed to high levels of harm and disproportionately from ethnic minority backgrounds and the state care system. Young people in prison are not only vulnerable but they exist behind closed doors in a highly controlled and coercive environment, out of sight from the general public.
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Notes
- 1.
Many of the young people that contact the Howard League do so on the recommendation of professionals or other people in prison and the initial contact often begins with a request for practical assistance about a pressing matter such as representation for a disciplinary matter or the need for support on release—also they can call us on a free number.
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Statute, Regulations and Codes of Practice
Academies Act 2000
Children Act 1989
Children Act 2004
Children and Young Persons Act 1933
Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015
Criminal Justice Act 2003
European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) (formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms)
Prison Service Instructions (PSI) 49/2011 (Prisoner communication services)
Prison Service Instructions (PSI) 08/2012 (Care and management of young people)
Prison Service Instructions (PSI) 06/2014 (Use of force in the young people’s estate)
Prison Service Order (PSO) 1600 (Use of force)
Secure Training Centre Rules 1998
United Nations Convention Rights of the Child
Young Offender Institution Rules 2000
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Janes, L. (2021). Children and Young People in Custody in England and Wales: Rights and Wrongs. In: Cox, A., Abrams, L.S. (eds) The Palgrave International Handbook of Youth Imprisonment. Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68759-5_3
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