The Civic Platform - A Political Journal of Ideas and Analysis

June 10, 2008

BRITAIN keeps more children behind bars than any other country in Western Europe, with 2900 under-18s imprisoned in the past year alone.

And despite 30 children dying in custody since 1990, the nation has
never held an inquiry or shone the public spotlight onto the
conditions inside youth detention centres.

A report prepared for the United Nations by the children’s
commissioners of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland has
painted a grim picture of life in Britain for poor or socially
disadvantaged children.

It argues that while research shows that the number of crimes
committed by children between 2002 and 2006 has fallen, convictions
have increased by 26%, creating a new underclass of alienated and
criminalised young people.

It says more than 1.3 million children live with parents who have
problems with alcohol, and teenage girls who live in poor areas are
four times more likely to become young mothers than their affluent
sisters.

The UN assesses the performance of government policies on juvenile
justice according to the obligations set out under the Convention on
the Rights of the Child. The UK comes under such scrutiny every five
years.

The report warns that punitive policies introduced by the Blair and
Brown Labour governments to tackle increasing public anxiety about
street crime and teenage violence have created a cultural shift in
policing away from cautions and warnings for misdemeanours, to
arrest and charges as the first steps.

The report will be presented to the UN tomorrow.

Britain was already under fire in 2003 — and made world headlines —
when the UN criticised it for being one of the few developed
countries that still allowed children to be smacked. The British
Government will not amend the law and it is not uncommon to see very
young children receive a smack on the hand or bottom.

According to the report, new laws that punish antisocial behaviour
have simply drawn more children into the courts and made the
traditional teenage pastime of “hanging around” a crime.

The report also looks at children’s mental health. One in 10
children aged between five and 16 has a clinically identifiable
mental disorder or illness.

The physical health of poorer children has improved only slightly,
while richer children are eating better and exercising more. The
report suggests poorer children are missing out on important care
and particularly on dental services.

The media came in for a salvo, with the report arguing that reports
too often portray young people as thugs or yobs. It says a 2005
study showed that 71% of all articles were negative and a third
related to crime, raising public fears unnecessarily.

http://www.theage. com.au/world/ punitive- policies- consign-young-
britons-to-alienate d-underclass- 20080609- 2nxv.html