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Thorn Cross YOI

THE closure of the under-18s wing at Thorn Cross Young Offenders' Institution has been condemned by the Chief Inspector of Prisons.

In her report, Anne Owers critcised the axing of the last open juvenile unit for boys in England and Wales as disappointing and retrograde'.

Thorn Cross, a 320-bed YOI, had provided around 60 places for boys under the age of 18, which are now being used by adult young offenders aged 21 to 25 from the general prison population.

Describing the report as an obituary, Ms Owers praised the unit, which she said had provided offenders with chances of education and training that had not existed on the outside.

She said: "Thorn Cross juvenile unit was a beacon of good practice working with a small number of young people and preparing them for the transition to life outside prison.

"This is a model that should be built on, not abandoned.

"To close (the juvenile unit) before there are any concrete plans for alternative open units, and largely for immediate financial reasons, is both disappointing and retrograde."

The report also said Thorn Cross was the only male juvenile establishment assessed as performing well across all the Prisons Inspectorate's four tests: safety, respect, purposeful activity and resettlement.

But the Youth Justice Board (YJB), which paid for the places at the unit, said it was poor value for money' as only around one third were being used regularly and they are now looking for new sites, possibly nearer London.

Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, called for ministers to revoke the decision.

She added: "The closure of the juvenile unit makes no sense at all and only reinforces a culture of failure in our ailing youth justice system.

"The Chief Inspector of Prisons is right to call this a retrograde step.

"Ministers and the Youth Justice Board urgently need to review their decision to cut costs by extinguishing this beacon of good practice."

2:51pm Friday 9th May 2008

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