Britains first "child jail"
BRITAINS FIRST “CHILD JAIL”
In Britain there´s a high rate of crime. And the worst problem is that the offenders are getting much younger. So the government thought about possibilities to find a solution for this very serious problem. But they aren´t sure if young offenders need special care or if they should be punished.
A good example is "Rat Boy", so called because he hides in lift shafts and roof spaces.
It´s supposed that he has carried out about 170 burglaries.
Nobody knows if he needs attention or if he must be punished to be a "normal" teen. Opinions are divided.
At last the government built the Medway Secure Training Centre, that opened in April 1998 and has cost about 30 million Pounds. The Medway prison costs the taxpayer 400 Pounds a day per child.
Most of the people think, that it will be a real success because of the right mixture of education, teaching discipline and care for young offenders. The Centre shall show the youngsters, that they can also be successful at other things apart from crime.
The government thought about building four more secure training centres.
The Children´s Society thinks, this experiment is a pointless waste and is too expensive. Ian Sparks, the Society Chief executive, meant, that locking away a few kids for so much money is mad. The offenders would talk about their criminal
techniques and so they would learn from each other.
Many newspapers write, that the centre is a comfortable hotel or things like that. Sue Clifton, the direction of the Medway Centre, disagrees.
She said, that they aren´t spoiling them and that we shouldn´t forget, that their liberty has been taken away.
The "child jail" takes up young people aged 12 to 14, on these days there live 40. Mrs Clifton told, that the youngsters, who are sent there, have missed a lot of school and are well on the way for a life of crime.
The Training Centre consists of house and education blocks, a gym, a tennis court, a sports area and a reception hall. The buildings stand around a grassy area, which is called the "village green". If there weren´t the high fences, nobody would know that it´s a prison.
The "young prisoners" are also called "trainees".
Each trainee is given an individual guidance from a personal mentor.They have their own bedroom, shower and toilet. The offenders are taught to cook the meals themselves, to wash and iron their clothes and tidy up their rooms.
The offenders are permitted to have one visit of their family per week, and sometimes more, depending on their behaviour.
They can earn extra pocket money or more time in front of the TV by doing special works.
The young people are locked in their rooms from 9.30 p.m. until 7.15 a.m.
They are also checked through viewing hatches in their doors every 15 minutes.
The large staff keeps the teenagers busy during the day. The trainees are allowed to make use of a computer room, a library and a craft and art room. So they haven´t got a chance to cause trouble, because of boredom.
In addition to those activities, the offenders have to go to the centre´s school for six hours a day. There are discussion groups, which talk about drugs, alcohol and topics like that, special courses in anger management, being a parent or solving their problems with communication.
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