Serious flaws affected children in custody during COVID lockdowns, study shows

Children imprisoned in custody during COVID lockdowns were failed by the youth justice system, experiencing increased vulnerabilities and eradication of rights, which led to devastating effects on their mental health.

These are the findings of a study that reveals these children were left alone for up to 23 hours a day, including regular periods of complete isolation and an education that in some cases amounted to wordsearch and crossword sheets slipped under their prison door.

Unmasked and Exposed: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Youth Custodial Estate, an article produced by Manchester Met criminologists, reveals that some incarcerated children were unable to see family and friends for up to 12 months, had access to education reduced or removed entirely and were offered minimal time for outdoor exercise.

The researchers conducted remote interviews and an on-site participatory workshop with 22 incarcerated boys aged between 14 and 17, and 22 members of prison staff. The research took place between March 2021 and January 2022 in the Greater Manchester region, and transcripts of these interviews were analysed for the report.

The study states: “The conditions in which children are kept in custody are dire, and poor conditions that pre-existed COVID such as a lack of time out of cell, safety concerns, increases in violence and limited education provision have been exacerbated by the pandemic.” 

Calling for a complete system change, it adds: “In the post-pandemic climate where public institutions are still licking their wounds, the youth estate should take note of its systemic failings and re-build with a more humanitarian approach.”

Professor of Criminology and Youth Justice Hannah Smithson, co-author of the study, said: “The situation for children in prison during the lockdowns was dreadful because their needs were simply not differentiated from the needs of the adult prison estate.

“The dire way they were treated during this time is a disgrace and should have been a national outcry. Even now, four years on, resources for children in custody have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. This needs to be addressed, and urgently.”

The report calls for alternative solutions to child youth justice including a de-investment in custody, and alternative investment in provisions such as housing, education, mental health services, employment and training.

Professor Smithson added: “We don’t naively propose that de-investing in youth custody would be a short-term overnight solution. What we’re arguing for is an approach underpinned by the upholding of children’s rights. For the sake of basic human rights, the incarceration of children should only be used as a last resort, and for the shortest appropriate period.”

Read the full report here Unmasked and Exposed: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Youth Custodial Estate. A Compelling Case for Ideological Change | The British Journal of Criminology | Oxford Academic (oup.com)