Juvenile rehabilitation neglected

Juvenile crime is on the increase, so it was backward to close Spike Island prison.

Juvenile services are fragmented. Spike Island’s closure was based on questionable financial calculations, and took no account of its excellent facilities, nor the relationships between prison officers, local networks and education built up over 18 years.

It was a prison with an excellent education programme and one of the few to offer a post-release training course, including a community employment scheme and a parent support group.