Page 32 - Urban Kapital Magazine Autumn 21

‘SCHOOL-TO-PRISON

PIPELINE’:

A SCANDAL FOR BLACK & MIXED HERITAGE BOYS

The government has come under which sees disproportionate exclu- department, partners and stakeholders
pressure to finally take action over the sions from schools leading to over-rep- in support of the remaining
“school to prison pipeline” after a resentation in the youth justice system.” recommendations.”
report by HM Inspectorate of Probation
found black and mixed heritage boys A sample of cases from nine youth of- Self-Harm and Pain Inducing restraint
received poor quality of support from fending services across England were in UK youth custody at record high
youth offending services and key agen- reviewed by the inspectorate as well
cies in England. as inspection data gathered over a This follows another report published
12-month period. Inspectors spoke to this month that shows self-harm and
The report shows 60% of those who had senior leaders and youth justice work- use of restraint has increased in the
received a court sentence had been ers, and partnered with an agency to youth justice system, this report also
excluded from school. Youth justice speak directly to some of the boys. shows a record-high number of
staff were said to find it challenging to children in youth custody are from
find suitable educational alternatives Justin Russell, the chief inspector of black, Asian and minority ethnic back-
for these boys. Inspectors examined probation, told reporters: “There is a grounds.
individual cases and found that most of disproportionate number of black and
the boys faced multiple disadvantages. mixed heritage boys in the youth justice The government’s annual youth justice
CEO of the Race Equality Foundation, system. statistics, highlights that more than
Jabeer Butt has called on the govern- half of young people in custody are
ment to bring in measures to end the Addressing this disparity has been a black, Asian or from a minority ethnic
“school to prison pipeline”. longstanding goal, but we found a lack background (BAME), a situation that the
of clarity and curiosity about why this shadow justice secretary,
He said: “The evidence on the lack of disparity exists and what needs to be David Lammy, described as a “national
early intervention to address multiple done to change it. scandal”.
and complex needs of black and mixed
heritage boys now in the youth justice “Good intentions must translate to In total there were nearly 7,800 use-
system is deeply dispiriting. positive practice and real of-force incidents across three secure
improvements across the country. training centres and five young
But perhaps more shocking is that 10 More must be done to understand and offender institutions – an average of
years after the Youth Justice Board meet these children’s needs earlier on, 82.5 incidents per 100 children and
committed itself to identify and spread to prevent yet more black and mixed young people a month.
local effective practice, this report heritage boys from entering the crim-
notes a lack of impetus to improve and inal justice system further down the The number of severe injuries suffered
deliver better outcomes for black and line.” by children in custody as a result of
mixed heritage boys. self-harm has also risen, and those
Steph Roberts-Bibby, chief operating requiring hospital admission had
“The Inspectorate’s conclusion that it is officer at the Youth Justice Board (YJB), almost doubled:
yet to see progress in ‘casework being said:
delivered’ should be a clarion call for The figures show a significant rise in
urgent and sustained action in the “The report makes a number of the overall use of pain-inducing
provision of youth offender services. wide-ranging recommendations, two restraint techniques since 2018-19.
of which are for the YJB. We are due The number of restrictive physical
MAGAZINE // 32 needs to invest in and improve early year that addresses one 7,500 incidents.
to publish revised guidance early next
At the same time, the government
interventions (RPIs) increased to about
recommendation and will continue our
intervention, as well as work to end the
school-to-prison pipeline,
work with cross governmental