Borstals were UK juvenile detention centers for most of the 20th century, intended to reform juvenile offenders. The system separated young boys from adult criminals, but some argue it produced more hardened criminals than reformed citizens. The borstal system was officially replaced in 1982, but its principles still influence the handling of juvenile offenders in the UK. Borstals were characterized by routine, brutality, and little useful training. The system’s legacy still weighs heavily on British culture.
A “borstal” is the term used to describe a system of juvenile detention centers which existed in the UK for most of the 20th century. Intended as reform institutions focused on the re-education of juvenile offenders, borstals were a popular form of juvenile criminal management. The borstal system was replaced by the Criminal Justice Act of 20.
The original concept of the borstal system was to separate young boys from adult criminals, in the hopes of both protecting them from brutal prison treatment and turning them into law-abiding citizens. The first detention center was built in 1902 outside the village of Borstal in the English county of Kent, leading to the use of the name ‘borstal’ as a common term for reformers. Other institutions were soon opening throughout the British territories, including in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
According to some, the borstal system has produced almost as many hardened criminals as reformed citizens. Although they have been defined as “re-education centres”, no formalized training courses have been offered; some programs included job or job training, but many of the kids came and went without even learning to read.
An ex-convict account describes a life surrounded by routine and punctuated by brutality. The boys spent most of the day working various jobs, such as bricklaying, but were given some free time to engage in particularly blood sports. In the account, the inmate describes how his attempts to learn to read led to reproaches and cruelty from other prisoners.
Corporal punishment in most stock exchange institutions was reserved for serious violations of the rules, such as assaulting a prison official. While reports of official punishments are rare, it is widely believed that informal beatings and brutality were quite common both by prison officials and among inmates. As in many prison systems, strict hierarchies developed among inmates, and new or lower-ranking inmates crossed these lines at their own peril.
Although the borstal systems were officially replaced in 1982, many of the principles that guided their operations still influence the handling of juvenile offenders across the UK. Critics of the system complain that inmates still receive little or no useful training and may have to resort to lives of crime upon release, having little knowledge of anything else. The idea of the borstal still weighs heavily on the culture of the British Isles, where many books, songs, plays and films have been set in these now vanished institutions.
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