Young offenders in secure care to gain expanded rights

Young people serving custodial sentences in Jersey’s secure accommodation are set to gain expanded rights following a change in the law approved unanimously by politicians.

The amendment will allow children and young people detained at Greenfields to be considered for early release based on good behaviour, as well as temporary release to visit family members or take part in work and education. The change is intended to close a gap in existing legislation, which previously offered fewer incentives and protections to those held in secure accommodation than to offenders held in prison.

The justice and home affairs minister said the reform was necessary to ensure fairness within the justice system, particularly for children. States members were told the change strikes a balance between the needs of young offenders and the interests of victims.

Currently, there has been no legal provision enabling children aged 10 to 14 or young people aged 15 to 17 serving sentences in secure accommodation to access temporary or early release. By contrast, offenders held in a young offender institution or at La Moye Prison can be granted temporary release and may be eligible for early release after serving two-thirds of their sentence.

It has also been suggested that the lack of such provisions has led some young offenders to deliberately misbehave in secure accommodation in order to be transferred to prison, where early release is possible.

The amendment aims to ensure children in secure care are not treated more harshly than older offenders and brings Jersey closer to meeting its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ministers told the States that a child-first approach underpins the reform, emphasising that young offenders remain entitled to care, education, family contact and protection while serving their sentence.

The law change will come into force on a date to be confirmed in a forthcoming official order.