![[Logo] The Howard League for Penal Reform](fileadmin/howard_league/template/resources/logo.gif "The Howard League for Penal Reform"){kind=logo}
Legal helpline for children and young adults in prison
The Howard League for Penal Reform Legal Advice Line was officially launched at an event in London on the 19th January 2005. Attended by members and supporters of the Howard League, prison staff, child practitioners and lawyers, members of the judiciary including Lord Woolf, and Cherie Booth QC, the latter spoke to those assembled of the necessity of the advice line in the protection of the rights of children in prison. She praised the Howard League for its campaigning work and legal victories.
The Advice Line, live since 2004, has been used by children up to the age of eighteen in Young Offender Institutions, Secure Training Centres and Local Authority Secure Children's Homes, and is accessible via a freephone number (0808 801 0308) three days a week. Dedicated lawyers answer or investigate legal issues arising from the individual?s period in detention. These problems include conditions in segregation units, adjudication procedures, problems with sentence calculation, provision of education and healthcare, early release decisions and local authority aftercare. Almost 400 calls have been received from children in institutions across England and Wales and while many queries may be dealt with quickly, a number of these have developed into litigated cases.
Since December 2006 the Legal Advice Line has also been available to young adults in custody and a dedicated lawyer has been appointed to work with this age group. We are the only organisation in England and Wales to provide a specialist legal service to 18 to 21 year olds in prison. For more information about our legal department click here.
The Howard League for Penal Reform operates a Legal Advice Line for practitioners and carers to access.
Qualified lawyers are available to answer queries from YOT and social workers, solicitors and barristers, other professionals and concerned relatives or friends of children in custody. We are able to offer specialist advice on the law pertaining to children and on prison law. Issues raised include:
- Applicability of the Children Acts 1989 and 2004 and the Leaving Care Act 2000 to children in and leaving prison
- Sentence length and type
- Aspects of the Criminal Law
- Prison Service Orders (eg regime, the use of segregation, access to visits)
- Treatment of juveniles in prison.
For advice on these and other matters:
YOT workers, solicitors and family members should call 020 7249 7373 xtn 102.
The Howard League online