Wetherby young offender report calls for action over youth violence

The site at Wetherby deals with 240 "extremely challenging young people" aged between 15 and 18

Urgent action is needed to tackle the causes of violent behaviour with "more and more" people going to young offender institutions, a report says.

The Independent Monitoring Board at HM YOI Wetherby made the plea to the government in its 2018/19 report.

The site in West Yorkshire holds around 240 "extremely challenging young people" aged between 15 and 18.

The government said a special unit would soon open at Wetherby for prisoners with mental health problems.

Some 52% of those held on remand or sentenced at Wetherby are charged with violent offences, and 12% with sex crimes.

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Catherine Porter, chairman of the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), said: "Over the last few years we have observed many much-needed improvements put in place, whilst also dealing with significantly more complex young people.

"Most young people report to the board that they find Wetherby to be better than they expected. That said, many of the concerns that we raise this year and in our previous annual reports remain the same.

"They are not the responsibility of the governor but of the minister for prisons Lucy Frazer and the Prison Service and urgent action is required."

'Well-run prison'

The board's report addressed its concerns to the prisons minister, saying: "Last year we asked, 'what is being done nationally to reduce the levels of violence amongst children and young people?'

"This year, as we see no evidence of any improvement and in fact the number of violent crimes has increased, we ask the same question: What, if anything, is being done nationally to reduce the levels of violence amongst children and young people?"

A government spokesman said: "As this report recognises, HMYOI Wetherby is a safe, well-run prison, which works to help its prisoners turn their lives around from the moment they start their sentences.

"The government is investing more than £220m into early intervention projects to stop young people from committing crime in the first place."

IMBs are made up of volunteers appointed by justice ministers to scrutinise conditions.