Introduction
Young adults and children have become the focus of attention in recent years. The increased focus is due to the increase in criminal activities by young people. Self-inflicted deaths in prisons have revealed serious lapses in the criminal justice system. The failings of the prison authorities in tackling the issue of young criminals are also worrisome. The case of Alex describes the failure of monitoring authorities inside the prison. Despite the care and supervision by the officials, they could not stop Alex from committing suicide. The criminal justice system needs overhauling in order to cope with the increase in self-inflicted deaths and to support the positive construction of youth, which will impact policy decisions.
Description
The death of 15-year-old Alex was one of the major failures in the criminal justice system. It shows how the construction of youth is designed in the prevailing social context of Western society. Before his death, Alex was sexually abused by a member of his family. From a very young age, he experienced the mental and social troubles of life. At the age of five years, he was brought to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. After being granted parental responsibility by Alex’s parents, the borough became Alex’s corporate parent. The boy had special educational needs and required special care as he was experiencing a mental disorder after suffering from sexual abuse. He was also placed in supportive foster care for recovery in Medway.
However, over time, such care did not change his behaviour or resolve his troubles. Alex became frustrated, and the carers failed to prevent him from receiving the custodial sentence given to him. In the same way, his corporate parents also did not provide therapeutic support to the disturbed Alex (Inquest, 2014). In October 2013, he was sentenced to a detention and training order without taking into account the mental health assessment. The multi-agency meeting before his sentence recommended that his mental assessment be considered when making decisions about Alex. No attention was given to the recommendation, and he was sentenced subsequently. The recommendation was that Alex be placed in the secure training centre.
Authorities did not provide the report to the court, which led to Alex being sent to Cookham Wood YOI, a male juvenile prison. He was the youngest prisoner at Cookham Wood. Alex’s vulnerabilities were repeatedly observed by personnel from the different associated agencies. Alex withdrew his participation in different activities inside the prison, and his vulnerabilities became more complex and were not managed properly. The failure of Alex’s corporate parent, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, to fulfil Alex’s needs led to his death. Before his death, the young boy became more frustrated and distressed, and he was engaging in self-harm. One day before his death, he told the prison officer that he was sexually abused. The officer fined him for depression.
The prison officers found Alex hanging by his shoelaces on 25 January. After his death, his father faced a complex inquest. Different agencies provided legal representation for the Youth Justice Board, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and the Medway youth offending team (Inquest, 2014). Legal aid to Alex’s father was granted after the case was highlighted in a leading newspaper. The case of Alex reveals the in-depth flaws in the criminal justice system. It also shows how youth are constructed in the social environment. The three other children who died around the same time as Alex also reflect failures in the care of children by parents and the concerned authorities.
The most important issue in dealing with and caring for children to prevent deaths like Alex’s is the lack of proper management and innovations in criminal justice policy. The co-director of the inquest, which was dealing with the case of Alex, remarked that Alex was in severe need of care and therapeutic support from the concerned agencies. The findings of the inquiry revealed that shameful neglect had been reported following the deaths of previous children. The director further lamented that Alex’s imprisonment in the first place provided him with the worst and most disastrous environment (Inquest, 2014). He emphasized that Alex’s case should prompt authorities to restrict the detention of children, which is very dangerous and must end now.
The deaths of young people and adults in prisons show that there must be an independent review that incorporates families and looks at the wider system and policy issues. Between 2011 and 2014, around sixty adults who were in the care of the government died (Bateman, 2016). The broader social, economic and political context also influences the deaths and attitudes of the young generation. Publications and research reveal that certain social constructions of youth lead to the deaths of many in prison. The increase in deaths in prison is due to the dehumanizing nature and violent atmosphere of prisons.
Reforms or changes can improve the prison situation. Otherwise, the present construction will continue to result in the loss of many lives. The use of prison for young adults and children needs political and policy boldness. The unsafe environment where juveniles are sent by the authorities is also dangerous and harmful to children. The untrained and under-resourced staff of prisons cannot deal with young individuals who have socio-psychological vulnerabilities. The repetition of the same mistakes and the repeated deaths of young people showed that authorities were not ready to learn lessons from previous deaths. Such lapses in the criminal justice system raised questions about the investigation, monitoring system, and inspection of state institutions.
The concerns and reports of the repeated deaths of young people stressed the need for new thinking and improved policy reforms. The new strategies can help the state avoid deaths like Alex Kelly’s. There are many interventions and policy planning initiatives to eliminate the problem of the distorted social construction of youth (Burke, 2016). There are children and adults who have died against a background of family discord, substance misuse, exploitation, and abuse. These cases have been underpinned by inequality and poverty. These needs are recognized as offending-related requirements. The early intervention system is indeed an essential aspect that can support vulnerable young adults in the criminal justice system.
Therapeutic schemes and community support services are essential for youth to save them from exploitation. Self-inflicted deaths and self-harm are also caused by the violent environment of prisons. Increased lock-up and impoverished regimes also contribute to the increased number of deaths in prison (Bradshaw, 2016). Discipline and widespread bullying cause anguish and isolate young prisoners. The treatment and intervention of juveniles in custody, like Alex Kelly, do not consider the needs and suffering of the juveniles. The punitive and generic approach is observed in most cases of juvenile care.
Support and help for young adults are absent in prison. When young adults are in special custody, the authorities do not provide personal officers, who are essential for prisoners at risk. Many young offenders are housed in prisons that are meant for young people, like the Young Offender Institution. A number of reported deaths have occurred in prisons that are not designed to meet young people’s needs. Lack of communication between the statutory agencies and the prison establishment has led to unidentified risks among young adults (Sanders, 2015). The identification of the risk of self-harm is also lacking due to failures in communication. In the prison estate, there is a combination of increased pressure and under-resourcing.
Reductions in prison budgets and staff cuts also lead to a bleak, overcrowded and violent environment for prisoners. Certain legal mechanisms influence the failure of systematic prosecution. The lack of proper prosecution paved the way for the destruction of the criminal justice system. There was no free legal aid for the father of Alex Kelly; it was granted only after a leading newspaper highlighted the case as a front-page story. The new coronial powers support learning from previous incidents. However, the repetition of the same mistakes and failures of prisons continues to undermine the policies that were formulated for penal institutions.
The inconsistency and delay in the inquest process lead to the socio-psychological distress of victims’ families (Smith, 2015). There are a number of people who have faced double trauma while waiting for the decision about the death of a close relative in prison. Restrictions on providing legal aid and constraints on legal representation have further aggravated bereaved families. Similarly, the lack of a proper mechanism for monitoring, auditing, and recommending improvements to the inquest process restrains people from cross-sector learning. It also affects the reform process in the criminal justice system. Alex Kelly’s father revealed serious failures in Alex’s care and support after his death.
According to Alex’s father, imprisonment destroyed his son’s young life. He said that the authorities would learn lessons from the death of his child and that no harm would come to another family (Smith, 2016). In addition to Alex’s case, the mother of 17-year-old Jake, who died at HMYOI Hindley in 2012, also expressed her frustration and grief. She explained that if her son had been moved by the authorities to a safer cell, it might have saved his life. She said that her family wakes up every morning with the grief that the prison officer helped Jake to hang out and end his life. In the same way, the chief inspector of the prison acknowledged that the mental well-being of prisoners was seriously jeopardized.
The destructive, aggressive, and confrontational behaviour of the individual was not controlled by the authorities. Many officials have openly demonstrated that they are unable to cope with the psychological issues of young prisoners. The chief inspector lamented that a clear policy for criminal justice must be formulated to help officials and staff retain the prison-centred approach. The prevailing culture, according to the chief inspector, is institutional blindness, which does not respond to the needs and suffering of young prisoners. The authorities’ approaches focus on punishing young adults. There is no focus on a child-centric approach to children’s welfare.
The detention of children in an unsafe environment subjects them to degrading treatment. Bullying, strip-searching, restraint, and segregation are some examples of the torture of children in prison. In such an environment of disrespect and mental depression, self-harm and self-inflicted suicides are common (Taylor, 2016). The responsibilities of the key agencies associated with the criminal justice system should be reformed in response to the increasingly disruptive conditions of young people in prisons. Agencies like the Young Offending Teams need to work on the management of offenders. The Youth Justice Board is also responsible for the protection of the rights of young adults who died in prison.
With the turn of the century, there was considerable focus on the construction of youth. This work has continued for many decades. Emerging European youth research, policy, and social youth work are impacting policies and social practices. The construction and policy of youth challenge the meaning and concept of being young. Different social and cultural settings reveal that youth are essential parts of European society. The emergence of the concept of youth dates back to industrial society and the advent of modernizing society (Tonry, 2015). The beginning of state intervention and education reforms in Europe are influencing the construction of youth in the Western region.
The change in the labour market and the revolution of industrialization contributed to the development and construction of youth. It has severely affected policy that works according to the latest changes and preferences of policymakers. The beginning of government intervention and regulation in child labour policies is a result of youth construction. The reorganization of the criminal justice system according to the prevalent requirements of youth also contributes to the construction of youth. Improvement in lifestyle and the transformation of different modes of society are also factors that contribute to the development of youth (Tonry, 2015). The realization of the calibration of time has introduced the structuring of one’s life by units of measurement.
The notion of youth as a normative and normal stage in the life cycle became legitimate in Europe. Educational developments and reforms in Europe and North America are also enabling the construction of youth and influencing policymakers. There were middle-class movements and campaigns in Europe. The perception of youth as an agent of change under the regimes of totalitarianism and fascism is of considerable importance to policies and practices (Wadman, 2017). The experience of being a young individual undergoes shifts due to the occurrence of certain changes in society. Modernity has radically transformed the lives of young people. The exploration of the self and social landscapes are factors associated with the construction of youth.
There are a number of projects that are run by state organizations for the development and welfare of youth. European projects are reflecting political ideology that emphasizes democratic values and the protection of human rights. European youth centres in different regions play a critical role in translating European values and incorporating them into educational programs. With power shared equally, the entire sector of the youth council is managed by the international non-governmental youth organization. Efforts are continuing to promote youth education, which will ultimately influence various policy decisions.
In addition to organizations for the construction and development of youth in Europe, the European Union has also played its role in the promotion of youth (Wadman, 2017). The operation sector program, along with the European youth project, was started by the EU in the last decade to promote values supporting the integration of youth into policy-making decisions. The EU has funded around nine million euros over the last decade. The values and thoughts of the youth organization overlap with EU ideology. The Council of Europe concentrates on the promotion of civil society.
The Youth in Action program provides opportunities for people to run and support voluntary service projects. The participation of the Council of Europe and the European Commission provides new policy direction and an approach to generating young leaders. The establishment of advanced training for trainers ‘ATTE’ and trainers for active learning ‘TALE’ is the result of cooperation between different youth organizations. The programs are designed as long-term courses aimed at identifying key competencies and intercultural learning among youth (Young, 2017). In the same way, the socioeconomic factors that influence youth work are social work and social education.
The partnership between the Council of Europe and the European Commission in the field of youth construction has considerable implications for policy and practices. The history of the social policy of youth in the UK is considered a response to the problematic urban class of the post-industrialist youth society. The vulnerable target of youth in the Thatcher period was underpinned by the permissive approach to the managerialism of the audit culture. In the era of Tony Blair, there was the idea and demand for joined-up services for youth. The discourse of youth construction revolves around the conceptualization of youth workers as educators, psychotherapists, and education instructors.
The non-formal values of self-determination, voluntarism, and autonomy are affecting the practices of professionals serving in the youth field. The reaction of the UK government in recent years to the riots is a case in point. The cause of ambiguity and tension is the coexistence of traditions of voluntarism with the drive to achieve the professional status of youth workers (Young, 2017). The successful development of youth work in an increasingly connected world depends on the parameters of policy and national legislation. In the youth field, research has been connected with policies and practices in explicit and implicit ways.
In the EU, these connections are embedded in institutional frameworks and a wide range of networks and organizations. The state institutions of Europe have introduced and promoted strong youth policies a number of times. The Council of Europe reaffirmed that in the 2020 agenda, the role of youth research will be a principal element of youth-sector policy. The youth strategy of 2009 provides a number of promotional aspects for the development of youth. The coordination and cooperation between EU and national youth policy are complementary mechanisms for the construction of youth in Europe.
Conclusion
In concluding the discussion on young people and the criminal justice system, it can be said that a number of reforms have been implemented by state organizations. However, there are serious lapses in the criminal justice system that destroy the lives of many young members of European communities. The case of Alex Kelly reveals that failures of key agencies and policy gaps lead to an increase in suicides in European prisons.
References
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