Improvements 'slow' at youth jail - inspectors

A young offender institution where a vulnerable girl twice had her clothes removed under restraint by an all-male team of prison officers has been criticised for the "slow" pace of improvements being made there.

Details of the incidents emerged earlier this year as part of a highly critical report into conditions at Wetherby Young Offender Institution.

Visits by officers from HM Inspectorate of Prisons in October and November to review progress at the facility found that while girls were no longer housed there, cases of violence, disorder and self-harm were rising, according to a new report.

However, inspectors also said a new governor "had taken real action since arriving".

Inmates at Wetherby are between 15 and 18 years old, and almost half have been in the care system during their lives, with some beginning very long or life sentences.

When inspectors visited in November 2023, the found that three girls were housed at the site, one of whom had twice been stripped by male officers to stop her using her clothes to harm herself.

Following new visits in October and November this year, inspectors warned that "uncertainty" remained over the placement of girls in custody at Wetherby.

Girls could still be sent to the facility as a "potential placement of last resort", they said in their latest report.

The government announced an independent review into the placement of girls in custody in November.

In their new report, inspectors noted that "oversight of strip searching had been strengthened, and the much-needed refurbishment of residential units was under way".

But records showed children spent too much time in their rooms and "in some instances...did not leave their cell for up to five days at time".

"On the weekend it was not uncommon for between a quarter and a third of children to have had less than two hours unlocked," the report said.

While inspectors had previously noted a high rate of "pain-inducing restraint techniques" used on children at Wetherby, reasonable progress had been made to address this, they found.

However, the teaching of English and maths, was also still not good enough at the facility, according to the report.

Charlie Taylor, chief inspector of prisons, concluded that progress at Wetherby Young Offender Institution had been "slow".

But Mr Taylor added that the new governor and deputy had taken "real action" since arriving, and, as a result, change was taking place "at a much quicker pace".

"We were optimistic about their ability to drive further improvements at Wetherby," he said.

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