Clause 12
Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill
11:30 am
Edward Garnier (Shadow Minister, Justice; Harborough, Conservative)
Not so very long ago, I was going through the front door of Oakhill secure training centre in Milton Keynes as the Minister was coming out, accompanied by his colleague the Minister for Children, Young People and Families. They had gone to look at the provision of custodial services for 15, 16 and 17-year-olds in that establishment, which is run by a private company. There were a number of people in the centre with indeterminate sentences. They had committed very serious crimes—some had been found guilty of murder.
The way in which we deal with youngsters who commit very serious crimes is not something that we can simply brush under the carpet and put out of mind. It is extremely important that the way in which we sentence people who are, at law, minors should have a number of aims in view. I suspect that we need to have those aims in view when we are sentencing adults as well. Punishment and public reassurance are clearly vital. The possibility of redemption as a young person matures is greater than it might be for an old lag of my age. The amendment provides an opportunity to ask the Government what their policy is with regard to the imprisonment of children, including those who have committed very serious crimes.
On my short visit to Oakhill STC, I found that its regime was humane and much improved from what it was perhaps two years ago, when it went through a period of difficulty. I do not know what the experience of the Minister and his colleagues was. I should have mentioned that the hon. Member for Milton Keynes, South-West (Dr. Starkey) was also there, as that establishment is in her constituency. I had a brief conversation with her before she left to attend to her other tasks.
We must be careful that we do not lump children or under-18s in with the rest of the criminal population. When children are detained during Her Majesty’s pleasure—I think that that is the frequently used expression—we should keep an eye out for education and rehabilitation, so that when that those children have served sufficient time for their punishment, they can be returned to society without the threat of being attacked or set upon by vigilantes, and without the concern that many of us have that they will reoffend if they have not been properly educated, reformed and rehabilitated. We should be able to stand up and say that when a young criminal is released, he or she will be a positive addition to society, not a drag on it or a further cause of problems. I suspect that the Minister, having been to Oakhill and, no doubt, other STCs, will largely agree with what I am saying. I congratulate the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome on raising the issue, albeit a difficult one to grasp.