A legal loophole has incentivised children serving a youth detention sentence in secure accommodation to behave badly and get themselves transferred to the island’s adult prison so that they can have a chance at an early release.
Deputy Mary Le Hegarat is seeking to alter the Criminal Justice (Young Offenders) (Jersey) Law 2014 to address the issue.
In the report accompanying her proposed amendment, the minister explained that there is currently no legislation for children and young people serving a sentence of youth detention in secure accommodation, such as Greenfields, that entitles them to gain temporary release or early release.
However, this is not the case for young people serving a sentence within a young offenders’ institute or for young offenders or adults within HMP La Moye.
“The impact is that children and young people in secure accommodation must serve the full length of their sentence, whereas if serving a sentence within the prison estate, they could gain temporary release and early release at the two-thirds point of their sentence,” Deputy Le Hegarat explained.
“Children and young people within secure accommodation would therefore, for example, be deprived of their liberty for an additional four months if they were sentenced to a 12 month sentence of youth detention.”
She noted that staff had become aware that “this position is known by young people”, contending that it “provides some incentive to behave badly in order that the placement panel is in effect forced to require their transfer to the prison estate”, which she described as “a less child friendly environment”.
This position is known by young people and provides some incentive to behave badly […] to require their transfer to the prison
home affairs minister mary le hegarat
It emerged this week that part of La Moye “continues to be designated as a young offenders institution”, six months after it was revealed that children were being held at the prison.
In May, it was reported that Deputy Le Hegarat had made the designation under Article 27 of the Prison (Jersey) law 1957 “in order to meet young people’s needs at this time”.
Article 27 of the Prison (Jersey) law 1957 states that the Home Affairs Minister “may provide young offender institutions where offenders aged not less than 15 years but under 21 years, sentenced to youth detention may be detained in conditions suitable to persons of their ages and descriptions”.
Deputy Catherine Curtis, who chairs the Children, Education and Home Affairs scrutiny panel, told Express that she understood that there had been “so much damage done by some young people to Greenfields in an incident that there was no way to keep them there for a while”.
If approved, the legislation proposed by Deputy Le Hegarat would enable temporary release or early release for children and young people serving a sentence of youth detention in secure accommodation.
It follows publication of the Youth Justice Roadmap earlier this year, outlining the government’s intended “children-first” approach to enforcing youth justice and rehabilitating child offenders.
The actions detailed by the strategy included plans to “undertake a review to identify legislative gaps concerning young people” and to introduce legislation “to allow remission, temporary release, and safeguard the rights of children and staff”.
“The draft law has been developed by officers over a prolonged period,” Deputy Le Hegerat stated.
“During this time, there has been ongoing consultation with key stakeholders including the Legislative Drafting Office, Law Officers’ Department, Justice and Home Affairs Department, Children’s Service, States of Jersey Prison Service, States of Jersey Police, Honorary Police, Office for the Children’s Commissioner, Jersey Care Commission, Judicial Greffe and the judiciary.”
