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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 8:41 pm
Time: 8:41 pm
Results for juvenile detention (ireland)
3 results foundAuthor: Ombudsman for Children and Young People Title: Young People in St. Patrick’s Institution Summary: St. Patrick’s Institution is a closed, medium security prison managed by the Irish Prison Service, which holds remand and sentenced young people between 16 and 21 years of age. Adjacent to Mountjoy Prison in Dublin, the Institution’s main buildings are part of a Victorian prison complex dating back to 1850 and were the site of the women’s prison before becoming a place of detention for young offenders. The Institution has a bed capacity of 217. This capacity is spread across four different ‘divisions’ or wings. The majority of young people under 18 detained in St. Patrick’s Institution are accommodated in B Division. With a bed capacity of 44, this division comprises single occupancy cell accommodation with in-cell sanitation. When this capacity is exceeded, young people have to double up and share a cell. Young people under 18 may also be held on C3 landing in C Division, which is the landing for prisoners in the Institution who are placed or request to be placed on protection. They may also be accommodated in D Division, which is the drug-free division in the Institution. The number of young people under 18 detained in the Institution at any one time is slightly less than one third of the prison’s total population and rarely exceeds 60 to 65 young people. Statistics provided by the Irish Prison Service indicate that in early November 2010, when this report was being finalised, there were 46 young people under 18 being detained in the prison, 33 of whom have been in custody previously, either under sentence or on remand. Of the 46 young people under 18, 28 were serving a sentence, 2 for a period of less than 3 months, 17 for between 6 months and one year, and 9 for a period of more than one year. As regards the offences that young people were serving sentences for, the highest number were for burglary (4 young people), assault (4 young people), assault causing harm (3 young people), criminal damage (3 young people), and unauthorised taking of an MPV (3 young people). Under the exclusions set out in Section 11 of the Ombudsman for Children Act, 2002, young people under 18 detained in prison are outside the OCO’s investigatory remit (11(1)(e)(iii)). The OCO’s consultation with young people in St Patrick’s Institution was conducted in accordance with the OCO’s statutory obligations under Section 7 of the 2002 Act to: • consult regularly with groups of children and young people; • highlight issues relating to children’s rights and welfare that are of concern to children and young people themselves; advise Ministers on matters relating to the rights and welfare of children; • monitor and review the operation of legislation relating to children; • encourage public bodies to develop policies, practices and procedures that promote the rights and welfare of children. The Ombudsman for Children has raised concerns about the situation of young people in St. Patrick’s Institution at national and international levels on a number of occasions, including in her 2006 Advice on the proposed changes to the Children Act, 2001, in her 2005 and 2007 Annual Reports as well as with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2006 and with the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights in November 2007. These concerns related to the exclusion of children in prison from her investigatory mandate; the detention of children in adult facilities and alongside adults; and the material conditions of the prison. The OCO’s consultation with young people in St. Patrick’s Institution also builds on: • a previous visit by the Ombudsman for Children to the Institution in November 2007; • an invitation from the Governor to the Ombudsman for Children to meet with young people committed there, which provided the basis for a visit by OCO staff to the prison in 2008; • commitments made by the State in its response to the Council of Europe’s CPT report of 2007, which indicated the State’s openness to visits by the Ombudsman for Children to the Institution. In accordance with provisions under Section 7 of the 2002 Act, the overall aim of this project has been to conduct a consultation with young people under 18 years of age in St. Patrick’s Institution about their experiences of and perspectives on their lives and different aspects of the regime in the Institution. In fulfilling this aim, the Ombudsman for Children’s Office worked to achieve the following project objectives: • to hear directly from young people about their experiences of detention in St. Patrick’s Institution; • to encourage young people to take on responsibility; • to highlight young people’s concerns and ideas for change as regards their situations and conditions in the Institution; • to facilitate due consideration, as appropriate, of the young people’s views and ideas at management level in the Institution and at senior national policy and political levels; • to develop constructive working relationships between the Ombudsman for Children’s Office and both the Irish Prison Service and management and staff in St. Patrick’s Institution, which can be built on in the future. Details: Dublin: Ombudsman for Children's Office, 2011. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 11, 2011 at: http://www.oco.ie/assets/files/St%20Pats%20Report.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Ireland URL: http://www.oco.ie/assets/files/St%20Pats%20Report.pdf Shelf Number: 121300 Keywords: Juvenile CorrectionsJuvenile Detention (Ireland)Juvenile Offenders |
Author: Holohan, Carole Title: In Plain Sight: Responding to Ferns, Ryan, Murphy and Cloyne Reports Summary: The report looks at the abuse and exploitation of Irish children in State funded institutions. The five key findings established were: 1. No clear lines of responsibility make true accountability impossible. 2. The law must protect and apply to all members of society equally. 3. Recognition of children’s human rights must be strengthened. 4. Public attitudes matter. Individual attitudes matter. 5. The State must operate on behalf of the people, not on behalf of interest groups. In 'Lessons for Today', the report highlights some issues which relate directly to the work of IPRT, including how successive governments have failed to address inhuman and degrading conditions in Irish prisons despite being criticised by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, Visiting Committees and the UN Committee against Torture. The research also points out that the UN Committee against Torture has expressed grave concerns over the continued detention of 16 and 17 year old boys at St. Patrick's Institution and calls on the Government to allow the Ombudsman for Children to receive individual complaints from children held in St. Patrick's. Also concerning St. Patrick's Institution, Dr. Holohan expressed that: "There needs to be clearer lines of accountability for decisions taken by the executive government – including decisions not to implement commitments previously made." She then questions how the Government can justify their decision to indefinitely delay the building of a new detention facility for children which will bring an end to the detention of 16 and 17 year olds in prison. Dr. Holohan's research shows that Ireland does not have a formal juvenile penal policy, and there is little preventive or early intervention work done with children who display offending behaviour. As an example, the report cites research which has found that among males aged 21-30 years, early school leavers have an imprisonment rate of 46.6 per 1,000 compared with 1.6 per 1,000 for those who completed their Leaving Certificate. In Plain Sight also highlights a 2007 study of 18-25 year olds experiencing homelessness carried out by the Children's Research Centre at Trinity College, Dublin. This study established that one of the main ways of a young person becoming homeless was leaving a State care system, for example a residential setting for young offenders. The report goes on to state that mental health services in the youth justice system are shown to be lacking. Despite the fact that children in the youth justice system and children in State care are among those at high risk of experiencing mental health issues, reports show that access to child and adolescent mental health services for these children remains inadequate. Details: Dublin: Amnesty International Dublin, 2011. 436p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 3, 2011 at: http://www.amnesty.ie/sites/default/files/INPLAINSIGHT%20%28WEB_VERSION%29.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Ireland URL: http://www.amnesty.ie/sites/default/files/INPLAINSIGHT%20%28WEB_VERSION%29.pdf Shelf Number: 122971 Keywords: Catholic ChurchChild AbuseChild Sexual AbuseHuman RightsJuvenile Detention (Ireland)Juvenile Offenders |
Author: Freeman, Sinead Title: Surviving on Remand: a Study of how Young People Cope in Remand Custody in Ireland Summary: The fusion of young people to the prison setting has been described as a toxic combination. This is especially pertinent when applied to youth in remand custody. Previous research studies have identified young people on remand as a highly vulnerable prison population and custodial remand to be a particularly stressful prison experience. Despite this, little research to date has examined how young people cope while remanded in custody. This thesis addresses this gap by providing an insight into the issue of coping on remand through the voices of young people in custody in the Irish context. It is informed by an interactionist theoretical framework which proposes that human behaviour consists of interactions between individual and environmental factors. The thesis employs an exploratory research design and incorporates a multi-method approach consisting of an observation study in the Children Court and the use of semi-structured interviews and standardised instruments with 62 young people aged 16 to 21 detained in custody in three remand settings. The findings reveal a major contradiction in terms, between the non-punitive concept of remand and the actual experiences encountered in the Irish context. Youth on remand are a forgotten population who are exposed to a particularly punishing and stressful experience which restricts their coping actions. This results in a high level of coping difficulty not only during the remand period but also on release or transfer to sentenced custody. The detrimental impact of remand indicates that remand custody should only be used as a measure of last resort and for a minimum duration of time. The majority of young people on remand would be better served by the development of alternatives to custodial remand, in particular bail support and supervision schemes which allow them to remain in the community. The implementation of change to the current remand environment and regime is also vital for the small number who pose a threat to public safety and must be detained a measure of last resort. Central to this reform, is the recognition of young people on remand as a distinct prison population by policy-makers, service providers and researchers and the implementation of separate, tailored facilities and activities which effectively meet their coping needs and respect their fundamental right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Details: Dublin: Dublin Institute of Technology, 2009. 327p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed July 9, 2013 at: http://arrow.dit.ie/appadoc/15/ Year: 2009 Country: Ireland URL: http://arrow.dit.ie/appadoc/15/ Shelf Number: 129333 Keywords: Juvenile CorrectionsJuvenile Detention (Ireland)Juvenile InmatesJuvenile OffendersRemand |