Children held in youth custody will receive stronger safeguarding protections under a package of reforms announced by the Government aimed at preventing abuse and improving oversight across the youth justice estate.
The measures, announced by Sentencing and Youth Justice Minister Jake Richards, include the introduction of dedicated social workers at every youth custody site, tougher staff vetting, mandatory safeguarding training and the creation of a new national safeguarding board.
The reforms follow an independent review of safeguarding arrangements by Isabelle Trowler, Chief Social Worker for Children and Families in England, commissioned after investigations into the abuse of children at Medomsley Detention Centre in County Durham between 1961 and 1987.
The Government has accepted all 34 of the review’s recommendations in principle and says a number have already been implemented.
Under the changes, every secure setting holding children will have access to a specialist social worker with child protection expertise. The role is intended to ensure allegations of abuse or safeguarding concerns are independently investigated rather than dealt with solely through internal processes. The social workers will also provide children with an independent point of contact to raise concerns.
A new safeguarding board has also been established to oversee child protection across the youth custody estate. The board will monitor safeguarding arrangements and report directly to ministers.
The Government is also strengthening recruitment procedures for staff working with children in custody. Enhanced criminal record checks will now be renewed every three years, while recruitment processes have been revised to identify unsuitable applicants more effectively.
Mandatory safeguarding training will become a requirement for all staff working with children in custody, with frontline training programmes being redesigned to better equip staff to support vulnerable young people and identify potential risks.
The reforms form part of wider changes set out in the Government’s Youth Justice White Paper, published in May, which focuses on earlier intervention, targeted support and addressing the underlying causes of youth offending.
The independent review was commissioned following scrutiny of historical abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre, where boys were subjected to widespread physical and sexual abuse over more than two decades. The review examined whether current safeguarding arrangements across the youth custody estate provide sufficient protection for children and identified areas where procedures could be strengthened.
Ministers say the new measures are intended to ensure safeguarding concerns are dealt with consistently and independently across all youth custody settings, while improving accountability and reducing the risk of systemic failures being repeated.
Isabelle Trowler, Chief Social Worker for Children and Families for England, said: ‘Following on from the Ombudsman’s important report last year into the Medomsley Detention Centre, my review examined the safeguarding challenges that persist across the youth custodial estate. I make a number of recommendations which make clear the urgent action required to better protect some of our most vulnerable children.
‘While there have been improvements in recent years, the evidence is unequivocal: more must be done to ensure every child in custody is safe, listened to and treated with dignity. It is now incumbent upon the Government and, in turn, HMPPS and local authority children’s services to make change happen.
‘Meeting children currently in custody and hearing directly about their experiences has been both a privilege and a profound responsibility. This experience, and the stories children shared, will likely stay with me forever. We owe it to them, and to those who suffered in the past, to ensure that the findings of this review lead to meaningful and lasting change.
‘The courage and determination of the survivors of Medomsley in their pursuit of truth and justice was instrumental to this work. Without them, the vulnerability of today’s children in custody would not have been brought into sharp relief.’
Photo: Matthew Ansley
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