Child prisons in England and Wales ‘significantly more violent’ than adult jails

Chief inspector says levels of hostility and self-harm rising across young offender institutions

Prisons holding children are “significantly more violent” than jails holding adult men and most fail to deliver “one meaningful conversation with a child each week”, the chief inspector of prisons said.

Charlie Taylor said that despite the government spending £300,000 per child in custody per year, levels of violence and self-harm are rising across the youth prison estate in England and Wales.