National Preventive Mechanism Eighth Annual Report 2016–17 Transitions from child to adult custody The forms of penal custody for children vary considerably across the UK and members of the NPM’s Children and Young People’s subgroup identified the need to map out the transitions between these and adult facilities, as well as the process by which these transitions are made.128 As with the pathways examined previously, the move from child to adult custody can pose risks for the treatment of detainees. The jump to adult facilities for some children is particularly dramatic: in England and Wales girls move directly from secure children’s homes or secure training centres to adult prisons (as there are no YOIs for girls or young adult women); in Scotland children are placed in adult female or young adult male facilities at 16 years of age. There are significant risks when the transition to adult custody is not planned or managed well. In 2016, the PPO (England and Wales) published a report into the death by suicide of Joshua Collinson, an 18-year-old prisoner at HMP Swinfen Hall. The report highlights disjointed and poorly managed transition arrangements, as well as poor information sharing between establishments – as a result of which key information about his mental health problems and needs were not shared. The PPO recommended that in future, ‘transition arrangements for young people moving to adult custody include a jointly agreed management plan covering at least the first six months after transfer, outlining how their needs will be met, and how their risks and vulnerabilities will be managed’.129 128. This work was led by the NPM Children and Young People’s sub-group, with contributions from the Children’s Commissioner for England, CJINI and HMI Prisons. The NPM was only able to focus on penal custody for children in this exercise. 129. Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, 2015, In depth investigation into the death of Mr Joshua Collinson a prisoner at HMP Swinfen Hall on 3 September 2015, https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/ppo-dev-storage-4dvljl6iqfyh/ uploads/2017/01/L137-15-Death-of-Mr-Joshua-Collinson-Swinfen-Hall-03-09-2015-SID-18-21-1.pdf [accessed 13/11/17]. 50