Juvenile Justice Estate (Hansard, 29 November 2000)

§ Mr. Ingram

Custody is now reserved for the most serious and persistent juvenile offenders in Northern Ireland, which has led to a reduction both in the number of young people in custody and the length of time served. But it remains important to provide secure conditions for those juveniles who do receive custodial sentences, for the protection both of the public and of the juveniles themselves.

There are currently two "open" centres (Rathgael and St. Patrick's) and one "closed" site (Lisnevin) in the juvenile justice estate in Northern Ireland. None of the centres is fully satisfactory, and their total capacity (115 places) is considerably in excess of requirements. Since April 2000, I have therefore been consulting on how best to restructure the estate in order to provide a progressive and balanced regime that fully meets the needs of young people in custody, and to achieve the most effective use of public resources.

I am grateful to all those who responded to the consultation document. These responses recognised that changes were needed in the juvenile justice estate, with opinion fairly evenly divided between the one centre and two centre options. In considering the way forward, I have borne in mind that the accommodation must meet a number of needs. It should provide a safe and secure (but not oppressive) environment, since custody is reserved for the most serious and persistent offenders. It must cater for the diverse needs of different groups of juveniles. It must be child friendly and unthreatening. And it must also provide a progressive environment, without disruptive transfers around the system. A critical mass of inmates is needed to ensure the optimum provision of opportunities such as education and recreation.

I have therefore concluded that, for an estimated maximum population of 50 juveniles (but with a working population of less than this), the most appropriate option is for a single site, offering comprehensive educational and recreational provision and housing the population in small living units. A modern construction would allow the best design features to be included, delivering intrinsic security in a safe and relatively welcoming environment.

The existing accommodation fails to meet this requirement. Lisnevin provides the necessary security, but in an oppressive and outdated manner. The Criminal Justice Review, recommended its closure, and I agree with that. Both Rathgael and St. Patrick's provide relatively 637W modern and bright living accommodation, but their campus-style environment does not offer the necessary security. Increasing security using the existing buildings would not represent the best opportunity to meet the needs of the population. The best option is therefore to make provision for a purpose-built modem facility on a single site.

I accordingly considered the scope for a greenfield site. However, I believe the additional costs and delay involved in this option would be prohibitive. A new build at Lisnevin is the least attractive option in terms of location. I considered the site currently owned by the voluntary sector at St. Patrick's in West Belfast. While this is in a central location, the area is closely associated with one section of the community, and the perception is that it would not be fully accessible by the Protestant community. The voluntary sector in NI is precluded by law from the provision of secure care. In these circumstances it is more appropriate to have secure custody also delivered within the statutory sector. The St. Patrick's site is therefore not in my view the best option for the new centre. However, I am currently funding the delivery of community based diversionary projects at St. Patrick's and I intend to continue to do so and to discuss with management how these might be further developed to meet the needs of local young people.

Finally, I considered the site at Rathgael in Bangor. While the site has some shortcomings and may not be perceived by all as an entirely neutral location, it has successfully catered for the needs of young people from both sides of the community for some years. I have decided therefore that the future provision for custody of juveniles should be a purpose-built facility at Rathgael.

As indicated earlier, an important element in juvenile custodial provision is the maintenance of links with families. Every effort should be made to ensure that family links can be maintained and matured while the young person is in custody. This implies that innovative and progressive visiting arrangements must be provided. To facilitate this, purpose-built accommodation will be provided on site to facilitate overnight and weekend visits by family members. This will provide improved opportunities for visits by families from remote areas of Northern Ireland.

In line with the requirements of section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, I have arranged for an impact assessment to be carried out on this decision by an independent consultant. The consultant concluded that while there is some adverse impact on Catholic families, the level of this impact is not likely to be significant. I have considered the position in the round and concluded that the business arguments justify the decision and outweigh any negative impact.