Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
Girl put in prison van full of adult men
CAMPAIGNERS WANT CHANGES IN THE TREATMENT OF DETAINED YOUNG PEOPLE
A 16-YEAR-OLD girl was forced to travel from a police station to Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court in a prison van filled with adult men.
The revelation was made by an independent court monitoring body campaigning for the way young people are treated in courts to improve
Lay Observers was appointed by the Justice Secretary to inspect conditions under which detained persons are transported and held in courts.
The body found the girl had to travel in a Serco prison van with adult men, lacking in many of the special conditions she could expect elsewhere in the judicial system.
If the girl was travelling under escort from a youth offender institute to a secure facility, she would have to be escorted by a speciallytrained officer in an unmarked car with tinted windows.
Children, young people and vulnerable adults in police custody are required by law to be safeguarded through the presence of an “appropriate adult”.
However, once they reach court, there is no such provision and they are treated like adults, which means being placed in small, windowless cells.
Additionally their custody officers are not given specialist training on how to deal with these detainees.
A spokesman for Lay Observers said that while Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court had not acted improperly, the monitoring body believes better rules are required for the transport and detention of children and young people in courts.
The body also highlighted the inappropriate treatment of disabled people in the courts system.
Lay Observer chairman Tony FitzSimons said: “What goes on in court custody and under escort to court is a hidden part of our justice system.
“It is very concerning that there is less protection for children and young people in court, where lifechanging decisions are made about their future.
“It is not good enough that the needs of disabled people are not being met more than 20 years after the Disability Discrimination Act.
“Lay Observers continue to raise these issues with the custody contractors and the Ministers and officials who oversee the contracts to press for changes to promote the dignity and wellbeing of the most vulnerable people in our court system”.
The Ministry of Justice uses external contractors to run its custody and escort court services.
Lay Observers are appointed by the Justice Secretary to oversee the conditions under which these services are being carried out and the handovers between police and these contractors.