DETENTION CENTRES FOR GIRLS
Ste,—The Prison Commissioners have just an- nounced the opening of a detention centre for girls between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one. In the words of the official handout, it is intended for those who 'cannot be taught respect for the law by such
measures as fines or probation.' . The aims of the detention centre will be 'to deter girls from further crime and to encourage them to seek their proper place in society by instilling into them a proper sense of self-respect and feminine conduct.' All this will be done mainly by hard work. good discipline and PT classes. Cosmetics (hut no pin-ups) will be allowed; and 'modern-looking' dresses will be worn.
The opening of a detention centre for girls was justified in the debates on the 1961 Criminal Justice Bill by government spokesmen on the grounds of a laudable desire to keep all young people under twenty-one out of prison, unless matters are ex- tremely serious: But surely in this case the alterna- tive ought not to be a detention centre. The girls in question may have committed all kinds of offences; but they are often wayward and sexually promiscuous. The great majority of them are self-rejecting, indeed they may unconsciouslY seek abasement. Quite often they are unsure of their femininity and look for reassurance by relation- ships with men. Relationships which, however. are destructive and which may have been triggered off by rejection on the part of a father or stepfather. What they need is a warm, accepting environ- ment, perhaps small hostels staffed by hapPilY married couples with something like a normal home- life. It is important that they should be able to build up good and positive relationships with men who accept them as they would their daughters or their daughters' friends. Certainly they need the right kind of affection inure than they need PT. You cannot `instil' anything into them nor can you deter people who are already convinced of their badness.
The Prison Commission quietly does some very
vii: modern and sophisticated work that the general public may know little about. But in the case of this detention centre for girls, the terminology used and the methods envisaged seem to fall short 01 the best standards. Already we have had telephon_e, calls by people who work closely with such girls and who are dismayed by this approach. At least let us be careful in not sending even slightly disturbed girls to this place. And if another centre is envisaged, let it be tried on much more imaginative lines so that the results of the tv methods can be compared before money is spent c' such rather Dickensian notions.
ituou J. KI-AO
Secretary, The Howard League for Penal Reforn1 Parliament Mansions, Abbey Orchard Street, SO
Previous page
