Isabelle Trowler, A Rapid Review of Safeguarding in Youth Custody (July 2026)
In July 2026, the Government published Isabelle Trowler’s independent review of safeguarding in youth custody, commissioned by the Minister for Sentencing and Youth Justice following the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman’s report into historic abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre. The review assessed whether current decision-making, governance and systems for handling allegations against staff concerning harm to children in the secure estate are sufficient to protect them.
Details
The review found that approximately 420 children are in custody in England and Wales at any one time, the majority with high-level and complex needs, extensive trauma histories and prior care experience. Although most safeguarding responses were judged broadly robust, significant investigative weaknesses were identified, including premature disclosure of concerns to alleged perpetrators and failures to interview alleged victims and perpetrators. There is a significant gap in statutory child protection expertise at critical decision-making points, weak central oversight and data quality, and inconsistent independent scrutiny of restraint across the estate. Children in Young Offender Institutions and the Secure Training Centre reported spending over 20 hours a day locked in cells, with 43% saying they had felt unsafe. Violence levels are persistently high, with an annualised assault rate of 432.6 per 100 children, and complaints relating to staff behaviour are disproportionately elevated. Approximately 10% of public sector YOI staff had out-of-date DBS checks. The review also found that home local authorities can appear uninvolved, and at worst uninterested, in children in custody, with insufficient national oversight of their statutory compliance.
Key recommendations
The review makes 34 recommendations. Those of greatest significance for practitioners include: every youth custody site must have access to a dedicated social worker with statutory child protection expertise; all children in custody should be given “looked after” status by the home local authority; independent routine safeguarding enquiry should be introduced as a structured, private enquiry by the home authority social worker; a new statutory notification system should be established where local authorities are not meeting visiting duties; trusted adults should be permitted to raise formal complaints on behalf of children; and a new National Practice Framework should be introduced for the youth custody workforce.
Government response
The Government accepted all 34 recommendations in principle. A new Safeguarding Oversight Board has been established, two senior social workers have been recruited to the central safeguarding team, mandatory safeguarding training has been introduced and enhanced DBS checks will now be renewed every three years. The Government supports extending looked after status to all children in custody but notes this will require primary legislation. Longer-term ambitions, including the National Practice Framework and professional registration for YCS staff, will be taken forward through a Youth Custody Transformation Plan later this year.
Commentary
This review is directly relevant to youth justice practice. When challenging conditions of custody or raising welfare concerns, the review’s findings on cell confinement, violence, unsafe environments and investigative failures provide authoritative, up-to-date evidence to put before the court or the custodial establishment. In remand and sentencing submissions, it strengthens arguments that custody exposes a child to identifiable safeguarding risks and that its known harms must be weighed against the welfare duty under s.44 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 and the best interests principle. Its findings on absent or disengaged home local authorities, and its recommendation that all children in custody should be looked after, also provide a basis for pressing local authorities and custodial establishments to deliver on their statutory care and support obligations for individual children.