72
2. material conditions of detention
29.
A well-designed juvenile detention centre will provide positive and personalised
conditions of detention for young persons deprived of their liberty. In addition to being of an
adequate size, well lit and ventilated, juveniles' sleeping and living areas should be properly
furnished, well-decorated and offer appropriate visual stimuli. Unless there are compelling
security reasons to the contrary, juveniles should be allowed to keep a reasonable quantity of
personal items.
30.
The CPT would add that, in certain establishments, it has observed a tendency to
overlook the personal hygiene needs of female detainees, including juvenile girls. For this
population in custody, ready access to sanitary and washing facilities as well as provision of
hygiene items, such as sanitary towels, is of particular importance. The failure to provide such
basic necessities can amount, in itself, to degrading treatment.
3. regime activities
31.
Although a lack of purposeful activity is detrimental for any prisoner, it is
especially harmful for juveniles, who have a particular need for physical activity and
intellectual stimulation. Juveniles deprived of their liberty should be offered a full programme
of education, sport, vocational training, recreation and other purposeful activities. Physical
education should constitute an important part of that programme.
It is particularly important that girls and young women deprived of their liberty
should enjoy access to such activities on an equal footing with their male counterparts. All too
often, the CPT has encountered female juveniles being offered activities which have been
stereotyped as "appropriate" for them (such as sewing or handicrafts), whilst male juveniles
are offered training of a far more vocational nature. In this respect, the CPT wishes to express
its approval of the principle set forth in Rule 26.4 of the Beijing Rules, to the effect that every
effort must be made to ensure that female juveniles deprived of their liberty "by no means
receive less care, protection, assistance, treatment and training than young male offenders.
Their fair treatment shall be ensured."
32.
The regimes of a number of the juvenile detention centres visited by the Committee
have included generalised incentive schemes, which allow juveniles to attain additional
privileges in exchange for displaying approved behaviour.
It is not for the CPT to express a view on the socio-educative value of such
schemes. However, it pays particularly close attention to the content of the base-level regime
being offered to juveniles subject to such schemes, and to whether the manner in which they
may progress (and regress) within a given scheme includes adequate safeguards against
arbitrary decision-making by staff.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents