'Serious concerns' for safety of children at Cookham Wood Young Offender Institution, report finds
Serious concerns have been raised for the safety of children - at a young offenders institute in Rochester.
An HM prisons inspector found a "near total breakdown in behaviour management" at Cookham Wood - and called for a "concerted and urgent response".
The Ministry of Justice says it has put in place robust plans to improve safety and support for those with complex needs.
It added that assaults are down across the youth estate compared to the previous year.
A Youth Custody spokesperson said: “Cookham Wood is home to some of society’s most troubled children, many with violent convictions, but we know much more needs to be done to better help the young people in our care to turn their backs on crime.
“That is why, as the report recognises, we have put in place robust plans to improve safety and support for those with complex needs – and across the youth estate assaults are down on the previous year.”
Cookham Wood is a young offender institution (YOI) in Rochester, Kent, for boys and young men aged 15 to 18.
According to the Ministry of Justice the number of children in custody has fallen by over 70% in the last decade – from over 2000 in 2012 to an average of around 440 children in custody at any one time during the year 2022 to 2023, a fall of 3% against the previous year and the lowest number on record.
They said that it creates a challenge as those in custody have largely committed violent offences, and are some of the most complex and vulnerable children in the justice system, who require extensive support.
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IMB Cookham Wood Co-Chair, Keith Morrison, said: “Teenagers in Cookham Wood YOI were being routinely held on their own, locked in their cells for very long periods – isolated from their peers; some for up to 22 or 23 hours a day.
"We have reported this in previous years, and the situation has continued.
"In our last annual report, we described an inhumane regime; if anything, this year it got worse.”