'In the Care of the State?' published
In 2005, INQUEST published the first detailed analysis of child deaths in custody. In the Care of the State: Child Deaths in Penal Custody in England and Wales is dedicated to the 28 children who died in prison between July 1990 and January 2005
Written by Barry Goldson and Deborah Coles, it drew on research that INQUEST commissioned the University of Liverpool to conduct into child deaths in penal custody.
The research for this book was funded by The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.
The five chapters cover:
- Background and context
- Children in penal custody
- Child deaths in penal custody
- Post-death investigations and inquests
- Key conclusions and recommendations
Here’s an excerpt from Chapter 3:
The ostensible ‘humanisation’ of penal custody for children is, in some senses at least, intrinsically counter-productive … “it is by making the system appear less harsh, that people are encouraged to use it more often.” Given that the courts have been consistently presented with the message that the harmful excesses of penal custody are being ‘designed-out’ through a process of reform, therefore, and, moreover, that ‘standards’ have been ‘pushed-up’ to such an extent that detention can serve as a ‘constructive’ purpose … it is no surprise that they have tended to apply their custodial remand and sentencing powers with increasing regularity.
Click below to download the book.
