Inmates forced to strip for searches

The report’s findings were largely positive following an unannounced visit last August to the Keppel Unit at Wetherby.

But the report states: “However, inspectors were concerned to find that: removal from the unit was still used as a punishment and routine strip searching still took place with force sometimes used to gain compliance; and many young people struggled to maintain regular contact with their families, a key element of support working towards and on release, due to the distance they were held from home.”

The institution’s Keppel Unit, which opened in 2008, is designed to provide a safe and supportive environment for some of the most challenging and vulnerable young people in the country, whose needs cannot be met in the mainstream prison system.

The report adds: “It is the 
only unit of its kind in the secure estate. This was its third inspection.

“Each time inspectors have reported positively about the conditions and the way young people were being treated.

“On this inspection, inspectors found that the positive culture and work practices had developed to a higher level and now provided a model of how a specialist unit should be run.”

Chief inspector of prisons, Nick Hardwick, said: “In the five years since its inception a positive ethos has been established and sustained within the Keppel Unit and good work practices have become embedded.

“Despite their vulnerability, young people were provided with a high standard of care within a well-run facility.”

Mr Hardwick added: “Our findings reflect the positive reaction from most young people and overall, the outcomes available were having a constructive and positive influence on some otherwise difficult young people.”