TNAG-2156-FCO40-3076-International-Covenant-on-Civil-and-Political-Rights-(ICCPR)-1990 — Page 64

CCPR/C/58/Add.6 page 32

"simultaneous ventilation rule" has itself been abolished, with the result that prison regulations no longer impose any restrictions on the circumstances in which inmates may make complaints in their correspondence, and the former disciplinary offences of making a false and malicious allegation against an officer or repeatedly making groundless complaints have also been abolished in England and Wales and are under consideration in Scotland.

Young offenders - England and Wales

New unified custodial sentence

139. Under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, a new sentence of detention in a young offender institution was made available to the courts. It came into effect on 1 October 1988, and replaced youth custody and detention centre sentences that had been available for male offenders aged 14 and under 21, and female offenders aged 15 and under 21. (Offenders sentenced under section 53 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 for certain grave offences and those sentenced to custody for life under section 8 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982 will continue to be the subject of separate arrangements of detention.) There has been no change since the last report in respect of the minimum and maximum sentences available to the courts in respect of male and female young offenders.

140. The Act strengthens the restrictions on the use of custodial sentences for young offenders introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 1982. It simplifies the sentencing powers available to the courts, enables more efficient use to be made of the accommodation designated for sentenced young offenders, and also allows offenders to be placed in establishments which can offer the most appropriate régime for their needs. These arrangements generally provide for offenders aged 14 to 16 to be held separately from those aged 17 to 20.

141. The Government recognizes that young offenders have more capacity for positive change and, recognizing the particular problems they face on release, have made it the principal aim of young offender institutions in England and Wales to help prepare offenders for their return to the outside community (see the Young Offender Institution Rules 1988 listed in the annex to this report). Emphasis is placed on:

(a) Provision of a programme of activities, including education, training and work, designed to assist offenders to acquire or develop personal responsibility, self-discipline, physical fitness, interests and skills and to obtain suitable employment after release;

and

(b) Fostering of links between the offender and the outside community;

(c) Co-operation with the services responsible for the offender's supervision after release.

142. The period in custody is not regarded in isolation, but as part of a sentence which includes an automatic period of supervision in the community by the Probation Service or the Social Services Department after release.