Call for cell phones to help young offenders

Young offenders should have access to phones in their prison cells to allow them to stay in touch with friends and family, it has been claimed.

Wendy Sinclair-gieben, the chief inspector of prisons, said allowing inmates to make calls to a select number of contacts had been shown to reduce violence and self-harm behind bars.

Ms Sin cl air-gieben was giving evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s justice committee after a review of mental health provision at Polmont Young Offenders’ Institution identified systemic failings and a lack of attention to those at risk.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland( H MIPS) was asked to carry out the work following the suicides last year of William Lindsay, 16, and Katie Allan, 21.

Ms Sin cl air-Giebens aid many teenagers were “welded” to their mobile phones and struggled with the loss of contact when held in custody.

She said: “You’re taking that away from them, but also you’ re taking away their primary vehicle for communication.

“If you are distressed at night, currently you can ring a bell and somebody will come and give you a phone to ring Samaritans. That requires a level of self-help-seeking behaviour, whereas if you can just phone a helpline or phone your family from your room without having to stigmatise yourself, I think that would be a huge benefit. It’s a quick win.”

Ms Sinclair-gieben, whose previous posts include overseeing the Wanadoo Reintegration Facility for young men in Perth, Australia, said the introduction of cordless phones that allow prisoners to dial pre-agreed numbers had been shown to be safe, effective and could be cost neutral.

She said: “I put it into a juvenile prison with 400 juveniles … at the end of the year, no phones were damaged, the level of violence went down 40 per cent and the level of self-harm went down dramatically.”

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Li am Kerr said: “Maintaining a family contact for prisoners can be important, but there are valid concerns at having phones in prison cells.

“The prison service must be absolutely clear that this will not jeopardise the other tenets of prison–punishment, deterrence and public safety. The existence of mobile phones in prison causes huge headaches for jail boss es, to the extent some facilities even have signal jamming technology.”