Young offender institution

Young offender institutions (YOI; more formally His Majesty's Young Offender Institutions or HMYOI; ) are youth detention centres for offenders between ages 15 to under 21 in Great Britain. These offenders will have received a custodial sentence following criminal offence convictions or may be being held on remand awaiting trial on pending charges.

A young offender institution can accommodate between 60 and 400 young people, with each age group housed in its own wing of between 30 and 60 inmates. Most young offender institutions are run by the national prison service while some are run by private companies on behalf of the prison service.

Background

Young offender institutions were introduced under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, but secure institutions specifically intended for young offenders have existed since the beginning of the 20th century: the first borstal opened at Borstal, Kent in 1902.

The regime of a young offender institution is similar to that of an adult prison. There are slight differences, notably a lower staff-to-offender ratio. Prisoners serving sentences at young offender institutions are expected to participate in at least 25 hours of education per week, aimed at behaviour improvement, practical skill development for post-release and employment preparation. There are also opportunities for prisoners to undertake work in Community Service Volunteer programmes.

Issues Violence is frequently reported in young offender institutions and staff have been criticised for failing to prevent it. Solitary confinement is often used, with inmates reportedly often confined to cells for up to 21 hours a day and given little tuition or guidance. At all YOIs during a six-month period there were 306 cases of segregation lasting over a week, which is "very high", with contributory factors including gang involvement, insufficient prison staff and a lack of NHS mental health beds.

Recidivism rates are high, with up to three quarters of released offenders re-offending within a year. Offenders undergo assessments on the likeliness of reoffending. This assessment is known as youth level of service.

List of young offender institutions

HMP & YOI Askham Grange, North Yorkshire, England HMP & YOI Brinsford, Staffordshire, England HMP & YOI Bronzefield, Surrey, England HMP & YOI Chelmsford, Essex, England HMYOI Cookham Wood, Kent, England HMP & YOI Deerbolt, County Durham, England HMP & YOI Drake Hall, Staffordshire, England HMP & YOI East Sutton Park, Kent, England HMP & YOI Eastwood Park, South Gloucestershire, England HMYOI Feltham, London Borough of Hounslow, England HMP & YOI Foston Hall, Derbyshire, England HMP & YOI Hatfield, South Yorkshire, England HMP & YOI High Down, Surrey, England HMP & YOI Hindley, Greater Manchester, England HMP & YOI Hollesley Bay, Suffolk, England HMP & YOI Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England HMP & YOI Isis, Royal Borough of Greenwich, England HMP & YOI Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England HMP & YOI Low Newton, County Durham, England HMP & YOI Moorland, South Yorkshire, England HMP & YOI New Hall, West Yorkshire, England HMP & YOI Norwich, Norfolk, England HMP & YOI Parc, Mid Glamorgan, Wales HMP & YOI Pentonville, London Borough of Islington, England HMYOI Polmont, Falkirk, Scotland HMP & YOI Portland, Dorset, England HMP & YOI Prescoed, Monmouthshire, Wales HMP & YOI Rochester, Kent, England HMP & YOI Stoke Heath, Shropshire, England HMP & YOI Styal, Cheshire, England HMP & YOI Swinfen Hall, Staffordshire, England HMP & YOI Thorn Cross, Cheshire, England HMYOI Werrington, Staffordshire, England HMYOI Wetherby, West Yorkshire, England HMP & YOI Winchester, Hampshire, England HMP & YOI Woodhill, Buckinghamshire, England

There are no HMYOI institutions in Northern Ireland, the only youth detention centre being Woodlands Juvenile Justice Centre in Bangor, County Down.

Young offender institution

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