Local lecturer broadcasts on youth custody crisis

A UNIVERSITY lecturer from Warrington was interviewed on BBC Radio Merseyside about the treatment of vulnerable children in youth custody.
Sean Creaney, a lecturer at Edge Hill University and a parent governor at a primary school in Warrington appeared on the Roger Phillips programme
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p056q2cv#play
He argued that there is a crisis afflicting prisons in which understaffing, overcrowding, lack of training and high staff turnover are creating a dire situation.
He said putting distressed children in solitary confinement could exacerbate pre-existing mental health problems, leaving them vulnerable to traumatic stress.
“Being in solitary confinement can trigger self-harm and intensify the symptoms of trauma,” he said.
“I also argued that the punishment is the loss of liberty and children should not be doubly punished by enduring ill treatment in poor conditions.
“Although the rights of children in custody ought not to lag behind the rights of children generally, children in prisons are particularly vulnerable to having their rights abused.
“I gave the example that it took 13 years and a successful campaign from The Howard League for Penal Reform before the Children Act 1989 was considered relevant to children in the juvenile secure estate. Until then it was assumed children forfeited certain rights after being charged, tried and convicted in a court of law. A custodial sentence cannot avoid infringing on certain rights – liberty being one – but it should not extend to areas such as wellbeing and mental health.”
Mr Creaney also noted how prisons tend not to have the right provisions, expertise and resources in place to support people who need to be cared for – an issue that has intensified following the onset of the government’s austerity programme.