A report this month from HM Inspectorate of Prisons (the independent body responsible for providing independent scrutiny of places of detention in England and Wales) has found that conditions for children separated from their peers or in solitary confinement in 5 prisons in England and Wales are “cause for significant concern”
The report goes on to say:
“The regime that was offered to most separated children was inadequate. While it tended to be better on designated segregation units, nearly all separated children spent long periods of time in their cell without any meaningful human interaction. We found children who were unable to access the very basics of everyday life, including a daily shower and telephone call. In the worst cases children left their cells for just 15 minutes a day”
The regular, consistent failings outlined in the report should deeply concern anyone who works in healthcare. It is well-known that depriving a prisoner of human contact can have devastating effects on their physical and mental health, but this type of isolation can cause even more damage in a child who is yet to finish developing both socially and emotionally. Of course there are occasions when children do need to be separated from others - often for their own safety - but this separation should never be done in a way that deprives them of their basic entitlements, which this report makes clear has not been happening.