Borstal

A borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. In India, it is known as a borstal school.

Borstals were run by HM Prison Service and intended to reform seriously delinquent young people. The word is sometimes used loosely to apply to other kinds of youth institution or reformatory, such as Approved Schools and Detention Centres. The court sentence was officially called "borstal training". Borstals were originally for offenders under 21, but in the 1930s the age was increased to under 23. The Criminal Justice Act 1982 abolished the borstal system in the UK, introducing youth custody centres instead.

In India, borstal schools are used for the imprisonment of minors. As of 31 December 2011, there were 21 functioning borstal schools in India, with a combined total capacity for 2,218 inmates.

History

United Kingdom

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.

Borstal (disambiguation)

A borstal or borstal school is a type of juvenile detention centre in India and formerly in the United Kingdom.

Borstal may also refer to: