Young inmates locked up for 23 hours

ONE out of every four inmates at the national institution for young offenders have to be locked up alone for 23 hours a day to protect them from other residents.

The chaplain’s report for 2010 has confirmed that a significant number of 16 to 21-year-olds housed at St Patrick’s Institution are at real risk of “psychological and emotional damage” because of the situation they face at such a young age.

According to the document, one in four of the 200-plus residents at the juvenile jail site have to be protected from other inmates due to internal and external difficulties ranging from small matters like stealing cigarettes to larger problems such as gang affiliation.