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1 July 2009 : Column 266W—continued
The information requested on the number of injuries caused by use of restraints is not held centrally in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. A Use of Force Report Form is completed by each member of staff involved in its use, to explain the circumstances in which force was used. Establishments are required to examine this information on a regular basis to determine if there any particular problems in relation to use of force or any resulting injuries. To obtain information on the number of injuries sustained during use of restraint would require contacting each young offender establishment and asking them to analyse their forms for every single use of force for the past five years.
The number of assault incidents for each current, single-function young offender institution for each of the last five years is given in table 2.
The information is subject to important qualifications. The NOMS Incident Reporting System processes high volumes of data which are constantly being updated. The numbers provide a good indication of overall numbers but should not be interpreted as absolute. Rises or falls in reported numbers from one year to the next are not a good indicator of an underlying trend for a particular prison. Additionally there have been improvements in reporting over the years, and this is reflected in the tables.
Assault data are complex and the numbers need to be interpreted with caution. Information recorded as assault incidents may involve one or many prisoners as some assault incidents may involve more than one assailant or more than one victim. Additionally in a proportion of incidents only the victim is known.
Reducing violence in prisons is a priority for Ministers, NOMS and the Prison Officers Association and they are collectively committed to working towards a zero tolerance approach to prison violence. Since 2004, a national strategy has directed every public sector prison to have in place a local violence reduction strategy and since mid 2007 this has been applied to the public and contracted out estate. A whole prison approach is encouraged, engaging all staff, all disciplines and prisoners in challenging unacceptable behaviour, problem-solving and personal safety.
| Table 2: Recorded assault incidents in single-function young offender institutions, 2004-08 | |||||
| Assault incidents | |||||
| Prison | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
Young Offender Institutions: Suicide
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of (a) 12, (b) 13, (c) 14, (d) 15, (e) 16, (f) 17, (g) 18 and (h) 19 year-olds in each young offenders institution committed suicide in each of the last five years. [282919]
Maria Eagle: Any death in prison custody is a tragic event. The Government, Ministry of Justice and the National Offender Management Service, (NOMS) is committed to learning from such events and reducing the number of self-inflicted deaths in prison custody. NOMS has a broad, integrated and evidence-based prisoner suicide prevention and self harm management strategy that seeks to reduce the distress of all those in prison. This encompasses a wide spectrum of Prison and Department of Health work around such issues as mental health, substance misuse and resettlement. Any prisoner identified as at risk of suicide or self-harm is cared for using the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) procedures. ACCT is the prisoner-centred flexible care-planning system introduced across the prisons estate in partnership with the Department of Health during 2005-07.
The National Offender Management Service holds two groups of offender within its young offender estate. These are young people (15 to 17-year-olds) and young adults (18 to 20-year-olds). Under-15s are not held in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs).
The following table details the numbers of self-inflicted deaths in YOIs in each of the last five years, by age as requested.
| Age | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
It is not possible to give the percentages that these deaths represent, for each age, in each establishment and for each year. Young people and young adults account for some 2.6 per cent. and 10.5 per cent. of all prisoners respectively. The 17 deaths detailed above constitute 0.2 per cent. of under-21s.
Under-18s are also held in secure training centres and secure children’s homes. There have been two self-inflicted deaths in Secure Training Centres and Secure Children’s Homes, both involving 14-year-old boys. One was the death of Adam Rickwood in Hassockfield STC in August 2004 and the other was the death of Wayne Cann at Hillside Secure Children’s Home in January 1998.
STCs and SCHs have stringent screening processes in place to assess young people’s risk of suicide and self-harm (SASH) taking into account vulnerability, safeguarding and risk assessments. Young people are assessed upon admission and regularly thereafter by the relevant staff as part of their review process. Providers have robust systems to record young people’s risk assessments and follow operational policies for managing those who are
at risk of self-harm. Establishments regularly provide data to the Youth Justice Board (YJB) on all incidents of self-harm, and this information is regularly reviewed as part of the YJB’s quality assurance monitoring arrangements. Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards also play a key role in working together with establishments in helping address the safeguarding needs of all young people in secure settings.
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