Children carrying weapons at most violent prison in England, inspectors warn

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. We have put in place immediate measures to address the concerns of inspectors Youth Custody Service spokesperson Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said: “This ineffective and harmful arrangement was, in effect, a reactive process of risk avoidance, rather than risk management, and had come to totally dominate life in Werrington.” Records indicated that nearly 400 weapons had been found over the 12 months prior to the inspection, according to HMIP. The conditions in the prison were also “severely detrimental” to education, which was provided not on the basis of needs but according to which children could mix with one another, inspectors said. Mr Taylor added: “We were left with the sense that Werrington had lost its way and needed to rediscover a sense of purpose.” He added: “The governor had set out a series of priorities for the establishment, but it was clear to us that more needed to be done to ensure staff were fully committed to these priorities and that plans were delivered.” A Youth Custody Service spokesperson said: “We have put in place immediate measures to address the concerns of inspectors, including reducing the number of children at Werrington, introducing a new conflict resolution team, expanding purposeful activity and putting staff through extra training on tackling violence.” The inspection report comes as the Ministry of Justice announced £300 million will be put towards tackling youth offending and cutting crime, describing this as the biggest funding package in a generation. Up to 20,000 more children will be helped and for the first time councils will be given cash specifically to “intervene early with teenagers displaying signs such as poor school attendance, troubles at home, and a history of substance abuse which are known to be factors which often drive young people into crime – so they can steer them away from law-breaking before an offence is even committed”, the MoJ said.