fbpx
Wikipedia

Borstal

January 12, 2023

For other uses, see Borstal (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Boarstall.

A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school.

Borstals were run by HM Prison Service and were intended to reform young offenders. The word is sometimes used loosely to apply to other kinds of youth institutions and reformatories,[1] such as approved schools and youth detention centres. The court sentence was officially called "Borstal training". Borstals were originally for offenders under 21, but in the 1930s the maximum age was increased to 23. The Criminal Justice Act 1982 abolished the Borstal system in the UK, replacing Borstals with youth custody centres.

In India, Borstal schools are used for the imprisonment of minors. As of 31 December 2014, there were twenty functioning Borstal schools in India, with a combined total capacity of 2,108 inmates.[2]

History

United Kingdom

 
HMP Portland, Dorset, former Borstal

The Gladstone Committee (1895) first proposed the concept of the borstal, wishing to separate youths from older convicts in adult prisons. It was the task of Sir Evelyn Ruggles-Brise (1857–1935), a prison commissioner, to introduce the system, and the first such institution was established at Borstal Prison in a village called Borstal, near Rochester, Kent, England, in 1902. The system was developed on a national basis and formalised in the Prevention of Crime Act 1908.

The regimen in these institutions was designed to be "educational rather than punitive", but it was highly regulated, with a focus on routine, discipline and authority during the early years. Borstal institutions were originally designed to offer education, regular work and discipline, though one commentator has claimed that "more often than not they were breeding grounds for bullies and psychopaths."[3]

The Criminal Justice Act 1982 officially abolished the borstal system in the UK, introducing youth custody centres instead. As society had changed[clarification needed] the system was then already outdated especially since the late 1960s and early 1970s, with many borstals being closed and replaced with institutions called Detention Centres and, from 1972, also with Community Service Order sentences.[4]

Corporal punishment

Except in Northern Ireland, the only corporal punishment officially available in borstals was the birch for mutiny or assaulting an officer, and this could be imposed only by the visiting magistrates, subject in each case to the personal approval of the Home Secretary, just as in adult prisons.[5] Only male inmates over 18 might be so punished. This power was very rarely used – there were only seven birching cases in borstals in the 10 years to 1936.[6] This birching power was available only in England and Wales (not in Scottish borstals).[7] Caning as a more day-to-day punishment was used in the single borstal in Northern Ireland but was not authorised in Scotland or England and Wales.[8] Confusion on this matter arises perhaps because in approved schools, a quite different kind of youth institution based more on the open "boarding school" model, caning was an official punishment for young people (maximum age 19).[9]

Commonwealth

A similar system under the name "borstal" or "borstal school" has also been introduced in several other Commonwealth countries.

India

Further information: Prisons in India

In India, nine states, namely Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, have borstal schools in their respective jurisdictions. Tamil Nadu had the highest capacity, at 678 inmates (as of 2014). Himachal Pradesh and Kerala are the only states that have the capacity to lodge female inmates in two of their borstal schools. There are no borstal schools in any of the union territories.[2]

Ireland

Main article: Clonmel Borstal

In Ireland the Criminal Justice Act, 1960 (Section 12) removed the term "borstal" from official use.[10] This was part of a policy to broaden the system from reform and training institutions to a place of detention for youths between 17 and 21 for any sentence which carried a prison term.[citation needed] The only borstal in the state was based for most of its existence in Clonmel, in County Tipperary. Founded in 1906, it finally closed in 1956, when the remaining detainees were transferred to the newly established St. Patrick's Institution in Dublin. Industrial schools performed a similar function to borstals.

In popular culture

Literature

Cinema

Television

A ninth series episode of the BBC television show Father Brown, titled "The Wayward Girls" and first broadcast in January 2022, was set in a borstal.[11]

Dog Borstal is the title of a British television series in which dog trainers address challenging behaviour by dogs.

Music

  • The British rock band Faces recorded a song (written by Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, and Ian McLagan) called "Borstal Boys" on their final studio album Ooh La La.
  • The British punk rock band Sham 69 had a top 40 hit single with a song called "Borstal Breakout" in 1977.
  • The British rock band Humble Pie recorded a song called "30 Days in the Hole" that included the lyric "Some seeds and dust, and you got Borstal."
  • The British singer-songwriter Richard Thompson included a song called "I Can't Wake Up to Save My Life" on his 1994 album Mirror Blue, which included the lines "Things I done make my dreams turn bad, like borstal boys coming home to Dad", an image similar to "chickens coming home to roost".
  • The German punk band Oxymoron released a track titled "Borstal" on their 1995 album "Fuck The Nineties...Here's Our Noize".
  • The British synthpop band Bronski Beat featured a mince pie-eating competition in Borstal with lead singer Jimmy Somerville winning the contest in the music video[12] of the cover song "It Ain't Necessarily So" from the album The Age of Consent.
  • The Borstal is a punk rock band from Jakarta, Indonesia.
  • Borstal is a heavy hardcore band from London, with Brujeria and Knuckledust members (including lead singer, Pelbu).

See also

References

  1. ^ "Bradwall Reformatory School (1855–1920)", a local history site. ([1])
  2. ^ a b (PDF). National Crime Records Bureau. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  3. ^ Bernard O'Mahoney, , July 2006.
  4. ^ Jenniffer Turner (2016). The Brison Boundary. Palgrave Studies in Prison and Penology. p. 80. ISBN 9781137532428. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  5. ^ Report of the Departmental Committee on Corporal Punishment (the "Cadogan Report"), Cmnd. 5684, Home Office, 1938, p. 123.
  6. ^ Cadogan, p. 122.
  7. ^ Cadogan, p. 123.
  8. ^ Nial Osborough, Borstal in Ireland: Custodial provision for the young adult offender 1906–1974, Institute of Public Administration, Dublin, 1975. ISBN 0-902173-66-9
  9. ^ Report of a Committee to Review Punishments in Prisons, Borstal Institutions, Approved Schools and Remand Homes (the "Franklin Report"), Cmnd. 8429, Home Office, 1951.
  10. ^ "CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT, 1960". Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  11. ^ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16444906/?ref_=ttep_ep8[user-generated source]
  12. ^ music video

External links

 
Look up borstal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  • Reformatory links from CorPun site devoted to corporal punishments
  • Archive pictures of Portland Borstal, 1920s and 1930s
  • "Borstal changed my life" – BBC website
  • 27 photographs of the first Borstal, Kent, in 1902 - Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
  • Elizabeth M. Chesser, "NEW REFORM FOR GIRL CRIMINALS; English Scheme Which Is Educational Rather Than Punitive" (article about extension of borstal system to include girls), The New York Times, 27 December 1908

January 12, 2023
borstal, other, uses, disambiguation, confused, with, boarstall, type, youth, detention, centre, united, kingdom, several, member, states, commonwealth, republic, ireland, india, such, detention, centre, known, school, were, prison, service, were, intended, re. For other uses see Borstal disambiguation Not to be confused with Boarstall A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland In India such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school Borstals were run by HM Prison Service and were intended to reform young offenders The word is sometimes used loosely to apply to other kinds of youth institutions and reformatories 1 such as approved schools and youth detention centres The court sentence was officially called Borstal training Borstals were originally for offenders under 21 but in the 1930s the maximum age was increased to 23 The Criminal Justice Act 1982 abolished the Borstal system in the UK replacing Borstals with youth custody centres In India Borstal schools are used for the imprisonment of minors As of 31 December 2014 there were twenty functioning Borstal schools in India with a combined total capacity of 2 108 inmates 2 Contents 1 History 1 1 United Kingdom 1 1 1 Corporal punishment 1 2 Commonwealth 1 2 1 India 1 3 Ireland 2 In popular culture 2 1 Literature 2 2 Cinema 2 3 Television 2 4 Music 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditUnited Kingdom Edit HMP Portland Dorset former Borstal The Gladstone Committee 1895 first proposed the concept of the borstal wishing to separate youths from older convicts in adult prisons It was the task of Sir Evelyn Ruggles Brise 1857 1935 a prison commissioner to introduce the system and the first such institution was established at Borstal Prison in a village called Borstal near Rochester Kent England in 1902 The system was developed on a national basis and formalised in the Prevention of Crime Act 1908 The regimen in these institutions was designed to be educational rather than punitive but it was highly regulated with a focus on routine discipline and authority during the early years Borstal institutions were originally designed to offer education regular work and discipline though one commentator has claimed that more often than not they were breeding grounds for bullies and psychopaths 3 The Criminal Justice Act 1982 officially abolished the borstal system in the UK introducing youth custody centres instead As society had changed clarification needed the system was then already outdated especially since the late 1960s and early 1970s with many borstals being closed and replaced with institutions called Detention Centres and from 1972 also with Community Service Order sentences 4 Corporal punishment Edit Except in Northern Ireland the only corporal punishment officially available in borstals was the birch for mutiny or assaulting an officer and this could be imposed only by the visiting magistrates subject in each case to the personal approval of the Home Secretary just as in adult prisons 5 Only male inmates over 18 might be so punished This power was very rarely used there were only seven birching cases in borstals in the 10 years to 1936 6 This birching power was available only in England and Wales not in Scottish borstals 7 Caning as a more day to day punishment was used in the single borstal in Northern Ireland but was not authorised in Scotland or England and Wales 8 Confusion on this matter arises perhaps because in approved schools a quite different kind of youth institution based more on the open boarding school model caning was an official punishment for young people maximum age 19 9 Commonwealth Edit A similar system under the name borstal or borstal school has also been introduced in several other Commonwealth countries India Edit Further information Prisons in India In India nine states namely Himachal Pradesh Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Maharashtra Punjab Rajasthan Tamil Nadu and Telangana have borstal schools in their respective jurisdictions Tamil Nadu had the highest capacity at 678 inmates as of 2014 Himachal Pradesh and Kerala are the only states that have the capacity to lodge female inmates in two of their borstal schools There are no borstal schools in any of the union territories 2 Ireland Edit Main article Clonmel Borstal In Ireland the Criminal Justice Act 1960 Section 12 removed the term borstal from official use 10 This was part of a policy to broaden the system from reform and training institutions to a place of detention for youths between 17 and 21 for any sentence which carried a prison term citation needed The only borstal in the state was based for most of its existence in Clonmel in County Tipperary Founded in 1906 it finally closed in 1956 when the remaining detainees were transferred to the newly established St Patrick s Institution in Dublin Industrial schools performed a similar function to borstals In popular culture EditLiterature Edit Irish writer Brendan Behan wrote of his experiences in the English borstal system in his autobiography Borstal Boy 1958 It was later adapted into play and film versions Alan Sillitoe s short story The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner 1959 is included in the book of the same title A boy s period in a borstal for robbing a bakery is recounted The film version followed in 1962 in which Tom Courtenay starred and the director was Tony Richardson In Roald Dahl s children s book Matilda 1988 Hortensia initially refers to the school as borstal on Matilda s first day Alan Figg s book Borstal 80 gives a personal account of time served 1980 to 1981 at Portland Borstal citation needed Cinema Edit The British film Boys in Brown 1949 stars Richard Attenborough Dirk Bogarde and Jack Warner It looks at life in a borstal and the challenges faced by those who go through them Scum 1977 a once banned Play for Today and its cinema remake Scum 1979 are set in a borstal Ray Winstone in a very early role features in both versions Young Raymond Briggs is threatened with being sent to Borstal by a police officer after being suspected of trying to steal valuable billiard cues from a golf club in the animated film Ethel amp Ernest 2016 Scrubbers 1982 British drama film set in a girls borstal directed by Mai Zetterling and starring Amanda York and Chrissie Cotterill Television Edit A ninth series episode of the BBC television show Father Brown titled The Wayward Girls and first broadcast in January 2022 was set in a borstal 11 Dog Borstal is the title of a British television series in which dog trainers address challenging behaviour by dogs Music Edit The British rock band Faces recorded a song written by Rod Stewart Ronnie Wood and Ian McLagan called Borstal Boys on their final studio album Ooh La La The British punk rock band Sham 69 had a top 40 hit single with a song called Borstal Breakout in 1977 The British rock band Humble Pie recorded a song called 30 Days in the Hole that included the lyric Some seeds and dust and you got Borstal The British singer songwriter Richard Thompson included a song called I Can t Wake Up to Save My Life on his 1994 album Mirror Blue which included the lines Things I done make my dreams turn bad like borstal boys coming home to Dad an image similar to chickens coming home to roost The German punk band Oxymoron released a track titled Borstal on their 1995 album Fuck The Nineties Here s Our Noize The British synthpop band Bronski Beat featured a mince pie eating competition in Borstal with lead singer Jimmy Somerville winning the contest in the music video 12 of the cover song It Ain t Necessarily So from the album The Age of Consent The Borstal is a punk rock band from Jakarta Indonesia Borstal is a heavy hardcore band from London with Brujeria and Knuckledust members including lead singer Pelbu See also Edit United Kingdom portal Law portalHer Majesty s Young Offender Institution Young offender Youth detention center Clonmel BorstalReferences Edit Bradwall Reformatory School 1855 1920 a local history site 1 a b Capacity and Population of Inmates in Borstal Schools at the end of 2014 PDF National Crime Records Bureau Archived from the original PDF on 27 August 2016 Retrieved 26 July 2016 Bernard O Mahoney The A Z of Law and Disorder July 2006 Jenniffer Turner 2016 The Brison Boundary Palgrave Studies in Prison and Penology p 80 ISBN 9781137532428 Retrieved 31 July 2016 Report of the Departmental Committee on Corporal Punishment the Cadogan Report Cmnd 5684 Home Office 1938 p 123 Cadogan p 122 Cadogan p 123 Nial Osborough Borstal in Ireland Custodial provision for the young adult offender 1906 1974 Institute of Public Administration Dublin 1975 ISBN 0 902173 66 9 Report of a Committee to Review Punishments in Prisons Borstal Institutions Approved Schools and Remand Homes the Franklin Report Cmnd 8429 Home Office 1951 CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 1960 Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas Retrieved 21 February 2013 https www imdb com title tt16444906 ref ttep ep8 user generated source music videoExternal links Edit Look up borstal in Wiktionary the free dictionary Specialized Borstal website contains many unsourced and questionable claims about unofficial corporal punishment also tends to lump borstals together with Approved Schools Reformatory links from CorPun site devoted to corporal punishments Archive pictures of Portland Borstal 1920s and 1930s Borstal changed my life BBC website 27 photographs of the first Borstal Kent in 1902 Modern Records Centre University of Warwick Photograph of borstal boys at work National Archives Extract from a report about girls borstal in 1938 National Archives Elizabeth M Chesser NEW REFORM FOR GIRL CRIMINALS English Scheme Which Is Educational Rather Than Punitive article about extension of borstal system to include girls The New York Times 27 December 1908 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Borstal amp oldid 1131590001, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.