Young prison-leavers 'neglected'

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Local authorities are systematically failing to provide suitable housing and support for vulnerable children leaving custody, according to a campaign group.

The Howard League for Penal Reform says councils are flouting a range of laws designed to ensure children leaving custody get the support they need.

This puts the public at risk from further crime, the group warns.

The Local Government Association said councils were doing their best in the face of rising child custody numbers.

Howard League for Penal Reform lawyers have represented more than 100 children in types of custody ranging from secure training centres to prisons.

'Appropriate support'

The group said almost all of these children had suffered abuse or neglect and many had a history of being in care or homeless.

Not only do these children have a right to be cared for properly but, if they are not, they will continue to wreak mayhem in their communities Chris CallenderHoward League for Penal Reform

Its legal team found local authorities across the country were neglecting their statutory duties to make sure such children did not leave custody without support.

Instead, many children are returned to the same circumstances which led to them committing crimes and being locked up in the first place, it said.

Chris Callender, assistant director and solicitor at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "Many of the children we have represented are vulnerable and challenging.

"Some have committed serious offences. Not only do these children have a right to be cared for properly but, if they are not, they will continue to wreak mayhem in their communities and put themselves at risk.

"They absolutely must be given appropriate support for their sake and for the sake of all of us."

Child prison 'explosion'

Les Lawrence, the Local Government Association's spokesman on children and young people, said an "explosion" in the child prison population in the past decade had placed an "intolerable burden" on already over-stretched council resources.

He said: "Councils take their responsibilities for vulnerable children incredibly seriously and in complex circumstances do all they can to ensure that young people coming out of custody receive the support they need."

He said some 4,000 non-violent young offenders each year should be given community sentences instead of being taken into custody, which he said would cut reoffending and save around £70m a year.

This money could be used to support those leaving custody, he said.

According to the Howard League for Penal Reform, there were 2,951 children in custody on 29 August, of whom 214 were in local authority secure children's homes, 264 were in privately-run secure training centres and 2,473 were in prison.