UK youth jail declared as ‘unsafe, violent’

A report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) has condemned a youth jail, calling it unsafe, amid widespread violence and intimidation of young inmates.

The HMIP released the report on Wednesday with findings from an unannounced inspection at Young Offender Institution (YOI) Glen Parva, in Leicestershire, earlier this year.

The inspectors visited the youth jail in April and found that the detention center had significant failings in its management of offender safety as well as overused force to maintain order.

According to the report, the inspectors surveyed 659 young detainees aged 18 to 21 over the situation at Glen Parva and found that half of the youths feel unsafe at some time, while one fifth said they felt unsafe at the time of the inspection.

In addition, the HMIP said that offenders reported “extremely high” levels of violence and intimidation by other prisoners. The inspectors also found an increase of serious incidents including barricades and hostage taking.

Furthermore, the chief inspector of prisons, Nick Hardwick, said the youth jail had a higher number of self-harm cases than what was normally found.

Last year, two young men committed suicide at the prison. This is while there had been two serious near misses in 2014

The report comes just days after UK’s Ministry of Justice revealed an increase in deaths of inmates and a rise in the number of jails considered to be ‘of concern.’