Strip-searching 'still routine' at young offenders' institution

Nick Hardwick, the chief inspector of prisons, said it was "disappointing that routine strip-searching remained in place" at Wetherby Young Offenders' Institution in West Yorkshire, which houses more than 300 boys and men aged 15-18.

All the teenagers who were admitted and discharged were strip-searched without any risk-assessment taking place first and despite the introduction of Body Orifice Security Scanner (Boss) chairs, the inspectors said.

A previous recommendation that the practice should be stopped had not been put in place, they said.

The institution also failed to stop mandatory drug testing and "all young people still had to undergo strip-searching as a matter of routine", the inspectors said.

In the future, strip-searches should only be used where it was necessary to prevent the risk of harm to the young person and others, they said.

The report, based on a follow-up inspection in August, also found "the use of force was not limited to situations where there was an immediate threat to safety".

There were 285 incidents where force was used between January and July this year, with 70 per cent of these relating to "low level fights and assaults".

But in three in 20 incidents, the force was used simply "to gain compliance with establishment rules".

The inspectors said: "The use of force should only be used as a last resort and where there is immediate risk to safety and not merely to obtain compliance."

Conditions in the separation and care unit were still poor and it "continued to be an unsuitable location for young people".

The teenagers also only had access to showers every other day.

But despite the concerns, Wetherby improved on an "already solid performance", the inspectors found.

"When we last visited, Wetherby was undergoing extensive and disruptive building work but was, nevertheless, performing reasonably well in all key areas," Mr Hardwick said.

"This inspection found that Wetherby had sustained, or improved on, this solid performance and, with the building work completed, was a more settled establishment."