August 5, 2005: Failure to Address Young Offenders' Needs

The vast majority of young men in prison will reoffend due to the Government’s failure to deal the needs of young adult offenders, according to research just published by the Howard League for Penal Reform. A report says that the Government has neglected young adult prisoners, who, for the last five years, have been languishing in a political and policy vacuum. This political failure risks condemning a large group of young offenders to a life where offending and imprisonment becomes the norm.

It goes on to argue that imprisonment fails to meet the needs of young adults, or effectively tackle reoffending. Young adults, who have been neglected by the prison system, will commit at least 8,500 further offences per year. Many of these young people will end up back in prison on what has become an intractable journey from community to custody to crime and back again.

Research Briefing 2: Young, Neglected and Back argues that imprisoning young men at this critical stage in their lives can have a massively detrimental effect. Instead, community sentences should be sought in all possible cases. The criminal justice system should work to resolve conflict and repair harm. It should encourage offenders to acknowledge the impact of what they have done and give them an opportunity to make reparation.

The report forms part of the Howard League’s Out for Good two-year research project which provides young men in prison the opportunity to discuss their needs, aspirations and hopes as they pass through the prison system and on to release. Out for Good is a large-scale research study involving in-depth interviews with 86 young men, during the first weeks of their sentence, towards the end of their sentence and on release.

Report author Finola Farrant said:

“Young adults in prison should be a high priority for Government. Nearly three quarters of young prisoners are reconvicted within two years of release from prison. By talking to young prisoners themselves it is clear that the toxic prison environment causes more damage, and increases the risk of future offending. Community interventions offer a more effective option if we are seriously to tackle reoffending.��