A radically different approach to youth custody is being introduced in England, with a new “secure school” near Rochester, Kent, due to open in 2022. Led by Steve Chalke, founder of the Oasis charity group, the institution aims to break the cycle of reoffending that currently sees 69% of young prisoners commit further crimes within a year of release.
Mr Chalke criticised the existing system as “19th Century, Dickensian” and “absolutely broken”. He said it relies on retaliation rather than resettlement and renewal, and must give way to a “psychologically-informed approach”. The Ministry of Justice’s recent White Paper described the new template as “schools with security, rather than prisons with education”.
The secure school will have a perimeter wall, but will feature bedrooms rather than cells, and a house-based layout rather than wings. Toughened glass, thick wooden doors and electronic fobs will replace steel bars and keys, creating a less aggressive atmosphere. It will accommodate about 50 residents in four houses, with an emphasis on therapy, education and neuroscience to address the impact of neglect and abuse.
Official figures highlight the scale of the problem. Reoffending within a year of release is 69%, with each young reoffender committing an average of five further crimes. For custodial sentences of six months or less, the rate rises to 77%. A young offender institution costs £76,000 per inmate per year, while secure training centre places cost £160,000 and secure children’s home places £210,000. Assaults in young offender institutions average 269 per month, according to House of Commons library figures.
The number of under-18s in custody has fallen by more than two thirds since 2001 to about 860. Mr Chalke acknowledged that those remaining are a more hard-core group of serious offenders, often with complex psychological problems. He also wants to establish a stronger safety net for inmates on release, providing help with accommodation and employment, to prevent immediate reoffending.
The secure school is being built on the site of the former Medway secure training centre, which closed after an undercover BBC Panorama investigation. The site is near the village of Borstal, from which the term “borstal” was originally derived.
