Comment: A life sentence of neglect

I VISITED Polmont a couple of years ago with a delegation of prison governors from across Europe. They were so shocked at the awful conditions and low expectations of the boys inside that they were virtually silent when we left the jail.

The lads were barely literate and could hardly articulate. Their life experiences were so impoverished it was not a surprise that they got into conflict with the law. The response of the state was to incarcerate them with nothing to do except gamble on which fly would reach the top of the wall first.

Four out of five boys released from Polmont prison will find their way back there within two years, having committed more crime and more victims.

Children are mainly sent to prison when magistrates feel they have exhausted all other options. But there is clearly something seriously flawed with the way we manage children and young people who break the law.

Children who end up in prison have often led chaotic lives, as victims of poor parenting, neglect or abuse. We then gather them together under one roof, exposing them to violence, sub-standard education provision and boredom, and expect them to turn their back on crime.

Children in the criminal justice system are still children and require lots of adult support to set them on the right track. We must adopt more effective approaches that address the root causes of why a child is offending.

• Frances Crook is chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform