The Life and Times of Young People on Remand: Recommendations for Future Policy in Ireland

The remand population of children and young people continues to rise in Ireland. Despite this growth, little is known about their experiences on remand. This paper focuses on such experiences from the perspective of the young prisoners. It is based on 62 semi-structured interviews conducted with young males and females aged 16 to 21 years on remand in St. Patrick’s Institution, Cloverhill Remand Prison and the Dόchas Centre, Mountjoy Prison. The paper highlights how young people who have yet to be found guilty are frequently detained for long periods in prison and are exposed to punitive conditions. The findings have important implications for policy in Ireland particularly in light of the principles of the Children Act, 2001 which state that young people should only be detained in custody for the shortest amount of time possible and as a measure of last resort. The paper seeks to make an important contribution to the criminology field by providing a critical analysis of the provisions that regulate custodial remand for young people in Ireland