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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS BY DEPUTY R.G. LE HÉRISSIER OF ST. SAVIOUR
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 3rd JUNE 2008 Question
When will the practice of placing young people in HMP La Moye cease?
Answer
Currently, any 15 – 18 year old children sentenced to custody serve their sentence at HM Prison La Moye. Boys are located in the Young Offenders Institution (YOI), which contains male young offenders aged under 21 years; girls are placed in the female wing of the prison which contains prisoners of all age groups. Greenfields Secure Unit holds children of both genders up to school leaving age who have not been convicted by the Courts but who have to be secured for their own safety or the safety of others. Both establishments contain vulnerable individuals as well as those who pose significant management problems, but the numbers involved are usually very low.
The difficulty for the corporate parent at present is that whilst Greenfields may be the best place for a 16 year old offender, they could be sharing that accommodation with an 11 or 12 year old who is extremely vulnerable. This can pose similar difficulties to those which arise when a fifteen year old offender is placed in the YOI with a 20 year old. A series of different establishments for different age groups, needs and genders might result in some offenders serving sentences in solitary confinement, which again would not be acceptable. There are no simple answers.
The Corporate Parent is considering proposals which would allow the placement in either the YOI or Greenfields of school age children aged 15 plus according to their maturity, risk and vulnerability. Before making a final decision on this issue the Corporate Parent also wishes to study the findings of Andrew Williamson and the Howard League for Penal Reform who have been asked to comment on this issue.