Leeds Teen Death Behind Bars: System Let Him Down

A Leeds teenager who died in custody was let down by the system. So says a Serious Case Review into the death of Ryan Clark at Wetherby Young Offenders Institute 4 years ago. The 17 year old from Armley hanged himself over fears he'd be locked-up for a long sentence according to the report published today. ** ** Jane Held, chair of the Leeds Safeguarding Children Board, said:"Ryan’s death was a tragedy and a real loss to his family and friends and all those who knew and cared for him.

"I commissioned a thorough, detailed and independent review of the circumstances of Ryan’s death to identify what lessons could be learnt by all agencies involved in his life in the years before the tragic incident occurred.

"The findings of this serious case review agree with those of the coroner’s inquest which showed that although Ryan was, in part, let down by the system, he also had a number of very positive relationships with people employed by those organisations responsible for his care at various times in his life.

"Ryan was undoubtedly a troubled young man who over the last year of his life could have had better support, not least with the accommodation which was provided for him.

"However, since Ryan’s death in 2011 I am confident that changes have been put in place in the organisations responsible for safeguarding children and young people to try to prevent such tragedies in the future.

"This serious case review was originally commissioned in 2011. However we were required to wait until the coroner’s inquest had been finalised before we could complete and publish it. In that time all of the actions for each agency in this review have already been completed. This has already contributed to improving the lives of young people in Young Offenders Institutes and young people who are in the process of leaving care, both locally and nationally.

"For example a review of youth accommodation in the city has led to the development of a supported housing service for vulnerable young people to address the accommodation issues Ryan faced during the last 12 months of his life. Services for young people who are leaving the care of Leeds City Council have also been reviewed and improved.

"Within Wetherby YOI, three new social workers have been employed to provide enhanced support to young people, especially those who are looked after. The allocation system for personal officers for young people has been changed to improve the consistency of staff support. The prison has also put measures in place to address the issues of young people shouting through the windows of their cells as well as improving the management of security checks and monitoring of young people.

"The Leeds Safeguarding Children Board has been and will continue to monitor the impact of the findings from this review on practice in Leeds."