Commissioner for Human Rights

Strasbourg, 17.10.2008 – "The system of juvenile justice in the United Kingdom should be reformed. It is too punitive and too little focused on rehabilitation" stated the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights today. Thomas Hammarberg presented a series of reform proposals in a memorandum addressed to the UK authorities.

The Commissioner observes the very low age of criminal responsibility in the UK and recommends that the authorities come into line with the rest of Europe where the average age of criminal responsibility is higher.

Moreover, Commissioner Hammarberg is concerned about the overuse in the country of child detention and the high numbers of children in custody in England and Wales. "Arrest, detention and use of child custody must be a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time" he said, welcoming the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 which received Royal Assent on 8 May 2008.

Conditions of children in custody and the use of restraints and distraction techniques are also criticised. "Although the overall conditions in the two premises I visited are good and the staff I met was very dedicated, I am worried about the methods of restraint that staff are allowed to use in child custody institutions.'' The Commissioner commends the government for suspending the use of the "nose distraction technique" and the "double basket hold" but urges discontinuation of all these methods. He also highlights the fundamental role of local authorities which "should be given full responsibility for ensuring the provision of services to children in detention and cover the costs and assume all of their legal responsibilities for children held there."

Commissioner Hammarberg urges the authorities to ban corporal punishment in all custodial settings and reminds the Government of its obligations to protect children from all forms of harm and ill-treatment.

Finally, he observes that the high re-offending rates of children leaving custody "seriously question the efficacy and purpose of the entire youth justice system in England and Wales and the use of detention in particular" adding that "repression is not the only answer to juvenile crime: alternative approaches could provide better responses to it."

The Memorandum is based on the Commissioner's visits to the United Kingdom in February and April 2008, when he held discussions with State authorities and non-governmental organizations and visited a number of institutions including the Oakhill Secure Training Centre and the Young Offender Institution Huntercombe.

Link to the memorandum and the authorities' response