NEWS that a child is being held at La Moye Prison as a result of a lack of alternative options has been described as ‘deeply alarming’ by a Jersey-based group campaigning for the rights of young people.
The Jersey Cares organisation said the move was the result of a lack of action from the government to heed the lessons of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry and improve the conditions under which young Islanders are cared for.
The use of La Moye for an Islander aged under 18 was confirmed this week and came in the aftermath of a highly critical report by the Jersey Care Commission about the Island’s secure unit for young people, Greenfields.
Carly Glover, chief executive of Jersey Cares, said: ‘This situation is deeply alarming, but it hasn’t occurred in a vacuum and lots of factors have built up in getting to this point.’
Mrs Glover said concerns had been raised at a meeting of political oversight body the Corporate Parenting Board in September 2021.
She said: ‘We raised concerns about the crisis of lack of homes for children on the edge of care, in care and “leaving” care and asked for an action to identify and tackle this crisis.
‘Not only was this action not included in those minutes but there appears to have been no action. Indeed the situation is only worsening.’
Jersey Cares is one of the bodies sitting on the Corporate Parenting Board, alongside the Health Minister, the Home Affairs Minister and the Children’s and Education Minister.
Mrs Glover said that children suffered the most as a result of the inaction, pointing out that many children were vulnerable and needed special care.
Concerns raised by young people about unsuitable accommodation had not been acted on, she added, along with feedback from prospective foster carers about their applications not being progressed.
‘We hear about promised improvements from the service and about transparency boards and feedback officers to drive a culture of openness and honesty, which evidence shows could really improve children’s lives, but to the best of our knowledge, these were press releases, unmatched by action,’ she said.
‘We hear so often now – it has, to our shame, become commonplace – that things are worse than preCare Inquiry.
‘And yet, we hear so much spin, massaging of the facts into “good news” and promises, that the public would be forgiven for believing that things have improved – they haven’t.’
The JEP understands that the recent decision to hold the teenage Islander at La Moye has been notified to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, which covers England and Wales and also carries out inspections in the Channel Islands. The next inspection at La Moye is due to be carried out in 2023.
Mrs Glover said that the position was a serious one but added that she felt the problem was ‘fixable’.
‘Jersey, as small and community-oriented as it is, is well placed to care for children very well,’ she said.
Prospective politicians were urged by Mrs Glover to speak to Jersey Cares about sessions aimed at highlighting ways in which the position could be improved.
‘These are our children. Giving up just isn’t an option,’ she said.
