Research criticises young offenders’ institution for gang-related violence

PA 352/12 A youth offending facility in the East Midlands has been criticised in a new report for taking criminals from rival gangs in Leicester and Nottingham. The research, led by an academic at Nottingham University Business School , said that the policy by Glen Parva Young Offenders Institution to take criminals from both cities was a recipe for trouble and has led to an increase in violence and gang warfare. In the report Richard Simper, an associate professor in financial economics, says that rival young offenders should be separated in a bid to decrease the incidence of inter-gang violence and called for a new facility to be built in the region. He added that the problem is not only confined to the East Midlands — similar problems have also been experienced with violence among rival London gang members at YOIs in the South East. Simper, an adviser to the Home Office and a consultant to a number of police forces, said: "During our sample period there were major problems at Glen Parva, which were widely written about in the press, based on an inspection report. "Our results agree with the inspection report's main findings that overcrowding was an issue and that inmate assaults were too high, due to mixing young offenders from different areas, mainly Leicester versus Nottingham. "If you look at the map of prisons, there are no other local YOIs for males in the East Midlands.