Pledge to young inmates broken, says prison chief

The Chief Inspector of Prisons has accused the Government of breaking a manifesto pledge to tackle prolific young offenders.

Anne Owers said ministers had failed to meet their promise to find money to try to stop the cycle of crime committed by men aged between 18 and 20.

The Chief Inspector told The Independent she had seen no evidence of more training and education being made available to prisoners in this age group, which is responsible for a large proportion of street robberies and other common crimes.

She believed the promise had been shelved because of the problems in the Prison Service arising from a sharp rise in inmates since the election 18 months ago.

Ms Owers said: "It was a manifesto commitment that more resources would be available for 18-20s. We welcome that but we have not seen that come into effect and I am not clear when, if or how that is going to be put into effect."

The comments will place added pressure on ministers who have faced criticisms for failing to meet a succession of self-imposed targets. The Chief Inspector said some young adults were being locked in their cells for 23 hours a day and that the opportunity for reforming offenders before they became hardened criminals was being lost.

None of the young offenders' institutions in England and Wales was providing sufficient education and training, she said. The Chief Inspector said: "Unless you get proper training and work in there, unless positive environments can be created, then that pattern of offending will continue."

She said the rise in the prison population from 66,006 in May last year to a record 73,000 appeared to have deflected the Prison Service from its work to reform young prisoners. Ms Owers said: "It's likely that those reforms have been one of the casualties of prison overcrowding."

The Chief Inspector highlighted a gulf between the improving treatment of juvenile prisoners (aged 15 to 18), where she said schemes introduced by the Government's Youth Justice Board were beginning to show results, and the conditions provided for slightly older inmates.

She said the gap in resources was recognised by young prisoners of all ages and by prison staff. The Government's 2001 manifesto pledge stated: "We will build on our youth justice reforms to improve the standard of custodial accommodation and offending programmes for 18 to 20-year-old offenders."

Failing to honour the pledge could lead to increases in violent crime and other offences, Ms Owers said. "I would urge the Government: properly resource this critical part of the prison estate because it's critical to public safety."

A Home Office spokesman said it was unfair to make such criticisms 18 months into a five-year term of government. He said £5m a year over three years was intended for prisoners aged 18 to 20, who also benefited from the Custody to Work rehabilitation scheme for all adult inmates.