CPT reports “totally insufficient” regarding education in Gibraltar

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The CPT report on Gibraltar on page 22

36. At the time of the visit, two male juveniles, one of whom was 14 years old, were being held in separate cells in Wing B between the vulnerable prisoner unit (Wing A) and the enhanced prisoner unit (Wing C). The material conditions in the six-cell unit were similar to those described above for the rest of the prison. As regards the regime, both juveniles attended a carpentry workshop for two hours a week and could visit the gym twice per week for one hour. Further, the 14-year-old was offered two hours of schooling every week and was provided with “homework” while the other juvenile (a foreign national of 17 years old) was still waiting after two months to be offered some schooling. For the rest of the time, the juveniles were confined to their wing with no purposeful activities to fill their time. Clearly such a regime is totally insufficient, as juveniles should be provided with a full programme of education, sport, vocational training, recreation and other purposeful out-of-cell activities. Moreover, each juvenile should have an individualised plan drawn up upon admission, specifying the objectives, the timeframe, and the means through which the objectives should be attained. The aim should be to best utilise the time that the juvenile concerned spends in detention to develop skills and competences that assist him or her to reintegrate into the community.