0:00:02 > 0:00:04This programme contains some strong language.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07Each year in Britain, we lock up 2,000 school-age children.
0:00:07 > 0:00:12Vinney Green locks up persistent and disturbed troublemakers...
0:00:12 > 0:00:14the kids no-one else can tame.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19'Some of them are very difficult, very challenging.'
0:00:19 > 0:00:20Fuck you, man!
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Some of them are very dangerous.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31Whether they are a danger to each other...
0:00:31 > 0:00:37They are making threats to kill everybody, threatening to stab all the bitches that work at the unit.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41..or a danger to themselves, and sent here for their own protection.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44I happened to go into her bedroom this time, and found out
0:00:44 > 0:00:46that she'd actually put a ligature round her neck.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48Are you scared?
0:00:49 > 0:00:55'They do need a rub of their head, just that motherly sort of touch...
0:00:55 > 0:00:59'Maybe that might surprise some people, but they are only children.'
0:00:59 > 0:01:05Three boys are facing the prospect of beginning their adult life behind bars, if they can't change.
0:01:05 > 0:01:1017-year-old Ryan started to get into trouble when he was just nine.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13I don't lose control, I just choose to get angrier.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17He's got an uphill struggle to overcome his anger.
0:01:17 > 0:01:2115-year-old Ryan is the only one in trouble in his family.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23There's always one bad apple.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27He's got to learn to say no to the lure of his friends.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Ashley has been in and out of secure units.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34By Christmas, I'll be back inside. It's just my life. Trouble.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38He needs to find the confidence to break the cycle.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40I ain't got none of that confidence shit.
0:01:40 > 0:01:46Vinney Green is called a children's home, but for the kids sent here, it feels like a prison.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51In Britain, the law says that children can be held responsible for their crimes.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54But with the vast majority getting into trouble again,
0:01:54 > 0:01:59will these three boys be able to leave here, and never come back?
0:02:05 > 0:02:07MALE YOUTH: I'm not going in there!
0:02:09 > 0:02:12I want to go to my room! Now!
0:02:15 > 0:02:18It's very tricky when we've got somebody here
0:02:18 > 0:02:22or we know somebody's come in that's potentially dangerous.
0:02:22 > 0:02:28There's cases of young people that's committed rape, arson, robbery, usually with threats of violence.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30The extreme is obviously murder.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34We get a lot of paperwork with somebody that comes,
0:02:34 > 0:02:38and we need to be aware of what that says, if there's any history.
0:02:38 > 0:02:39At the same time, we need to take every person
0:02:39 > 0:02:41for who they are when they arrive,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44and we need to judge them on what they're like when they're here.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47Turnover at Vinney Green is high.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51Some young people are here for just a few days, waiting to find out what's next.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Others are here for months.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56A few stay for years.
0:02:58 > 0:03:04Ashley, who's recently arrived at Vinney Green, has been here once before.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07It's his fifth stay at a secure children's home by the age of 16.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11Why are you searching MY room?
0:03:11 > 0:03:15We're searching everybody's. We're doing the astroturf, everything.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Yeah, but you searched us earlier!
0:03:17 > 0:03:20- We've been told to do it again. - You've already searched my room.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25The children have their own bedrooms, but they can be searched at any time.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29- Ashley...- Search my room all you want, you ain't searching me.
0:03:29 > 0:03:36Because he's been in so many units, Ash knows the system inside out, and he's not afraid to rebel.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38Everyone's got to be searched...
0:03:38 > 0:03:43- You did it to me last week! - Everyone's got to be searched. - And I didn't have fuck-all.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46And he often deliberately chooses to face down staff.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50'Fuck the system.'
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Do anything to get away from the system,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55do anything to fight the system.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59I ain't doing what these lot tell me to do. I'll do what I want to do.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Wherever you go, you're being watched.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09When you come out on the astro, it turns out to be more of a prison,
0:04:09 > 0:04:11you're being watched 24/7.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16You've got all the gates, you've got the bars. You can't go nowhere.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20Whereas in there it just feels like you're in a normal school, like.
0:04:20 > 0:04:26This is day 21 for Ash. But being caged is a way of life for him.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Sometimes I wish I was a bird.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33I'd just fly away, never come back.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37Get me? Never come back.
0:04:37 > 0:04:43Like most of the kids at Vinney Green, Ash started his downward spiral at an early age.
0:04:43 > 0:04:48I started getting into drugs, started smoking weed, drinking, going out on
0:04:48 > 0:04:53Friday nights, getting violent, just beating people up, getting arrested.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57And then, one day I was out of control, and I took a car.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02I took a car and just, like...
0:05:04 > 0:05:06..drove off.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08I was only 12, 13.
0:05:08 > 0:05:09It was, like, the wrong thing to do.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Wish I never did it. But...
0:05:14 > 0:05:16It's just something that happened,
0:05:16 > 0:05:18I can't change it.
0:05:18 > 0:05:19But I do regret it.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25Come on, Ashley. Go into your room.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29Ashley's behaviour here presents a challenge to the staff.
0:05:30 > 0:05:36He'll be carefully assessed on a daily basis, like every child on the unit.
0:05:38 > 0:05:44We had a new admission last night, a 13-year-old, and he's got some serious issues, this kiddie here...
0:05:44 > 0:05:47The senior managers and teachers meet to examine the level of risks
0:05:47 > 0:05:52posed to other children, staff, or even to children harming themselves.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Volatile...
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Just flips out and does all sorts.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00As I said, smears faeces, urine...
0:06:01 > 0:06:04- Bit disturbed, then? - Very disturbed, by the looks of it.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07- Yeah.- So we'll need to be on the ball with this one.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11There's a daily meeting, so that if there are issues, especially with someone
0:06:11 > 0:06:17who's been highlighted as dangerous, we're on top of that, and we can catch something before it happens.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20You can't always - but that's the hope, that you can.
0:06:20 > 0:06:26A lot of the time, we come in here and on paper they look like Frankenstein's monsters.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29- Yeah.- But...we'll see.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33No-one is born evil.
0:06:33 > 0:06:38Children are children. They may come FROM a disadvantaged background,
0:06:38 > 0:06:43but they have the qualities to overcome those disadvantages.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50In Vinney Green, there are separate living areas for the boys and the girls.
0:06:52 > 0:06:5815-year-old Ryan has also been brought here for the second time.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01But he's been assessed as vulnerable, so he's been
0:07:01 > 0:07:05separated from the other boys, and lives alongside the girls.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09Yeah, I may be fat, but I'm losing it when I get out.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11I might lose it when I get out.
0:07:11 > 0:07:17Ryan was bullied the last time he was at the unit, so the staff are concerned about his safety.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20Ryan is being bullied, big style -
0:07:20 > 0:07:25- apparently it stems from last time he was here...- Is that still going on?
0:07:25 > 0:07:27It's still going on. They won't let it drop.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30So, he's being picked up,
0:07:30 > 0:07:34brought over five minutes late and taken back five minutes early,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37cos he really, really, really doesn't want to bump into...
0:07:37 > 0:07:39I'll try and get to the bottom of it this afternoon.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18Ryan is being protected from the tougher boys, who have a reputation for fighting.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25The other Ryan is 17, and has been here already for 180 days.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28He lives on the block for boys.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35He's been involved in a number of fights since arriving at Vinney Green.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45He's been in trouble with the police since he was nine.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Started off just like, little things, like...
0:08:49 > 0:08:51..assaults, fighting,
0:08:51 > 0:08:53criminal damage,
0:08:53 > 0:08:57theft, stuff like that. But then,
0:08:57 > 0:09:02obviously as you get older I was drinking, drugs, stuff like that.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04And then...
0:09:04 > 0:09:06serious fights and
0:09:06 > 0:09:08more serious stuff.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13The first time I got caught for anything, I was nine or ten, something like that.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16I think it was criminal damage.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20I just lost my temper and... smashed someone up.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24'Sometimes young people are on such a downward spiral
0:09:24 > 0:09:27'of offending, literally on a daily basis,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30'I believe that sometimes young people do need to be secured.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33'All you can do is give society a rest.'
0:09:33 > 0:09:39No matter how closely the kids are monitored, fights can break out at any time.
0:09:39 > 0:09:44'We've often got 24 people. They've obviously not chosen to be here,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48'they don't necessarily like each other. They do wind each other up,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51'they're in each other's faces.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54'So quite often, there's a lot of verbal threats, verbal challenges.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58'The violence between young people tends to be reactive.
0:09:58 > 0:10:03'Someone's said something to someone else, someone throws a punch.'
0:10:04 > 0:10:07Ryan starts another fight.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12He's restrained, and taken to his room.
0:10:17 > 0:10:22'If I'm arguing with someone and getting angry, I might lash out or...
0:10:22 > 0:10:27'if someone lashes out at me, I'll get angry and lash out back.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29'I just get angry quite quickly.'
0:10:29 > 0:10:32I don't even know what it is. I choose to get angry -
0:10:32 > 0:10:35I don't lose control, I just...choose to get angrier.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42Every single government's trying to look at how you break that cycle
0:10:42 > 0:10:48of criminal offending, which young people get into and then carry on into adulthood.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56With some young people, it's about directing them and giving them the best opportunity.
0:10:56 > 0:11:02What establishments like Vinney Green are meant to do is put a lot of expensive resources into them
0:11:02 > 0:11:07at a younger age, because if we can stop someone offending in later life,
0:11:07 > 0:11:12there is economic and social savings for the country.
0:11:12 > 0:11:13But it's about accepting
0:11:13 > 0:11:16that you might have to put that money and time in now,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18and won't reap the benefit for 20 years' time.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Get yourself out of bed, Ryan. Let's go.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27Take your tablet for me, please.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33Grab the mop bucket, let's go. Come on, then.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35This secure unit takes the piss.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38If you don't like it, Ryan, you know what the answer is, mate.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42To try and turn the kids around, the unit runs a strict daily regime.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45From the moment they are woken up at seven, they're never on their own.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47What's wrong with you this morning?
0:11:47 > 0:11:53- This is what I'm like in the mornings, Andy.- What, grumpy?- Yeah.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57Cos I never ever get up this early. Never.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02The only time the kids are locked in their bedrooms is for ten hours at night.
0:12:02 > 0:12:08The young people have very little free time when they're allowed to do things that they would choose to do.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10We do all their thinking for them.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13This is when you get fed, this when you go to sleep...
0:12:13 > 0:12:18We offer them plenty of activities, whether it be education or sport.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Because our staffing levels are much greater than a prison,
0:12:21 > 0:12:25there's a member of staff all the time listening to them, trying to control them.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30We're more in the young people's space, in their face, so we're more challenging.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34Some young people like that a lot. Others don't.
0:12:35 > 0:12:40For Ash, the only consistent structure in his life has been behind bars.
0:12:40 > 0:12:46But now, aged nearly 17, Ash aspires to a more adult regime.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Butlins, innit? Butlins.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53OTHER YOUTH LAUGHS It is, though, innit? It's Butlins.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56- Yeah?- Better than Butlins, just behind bars.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59It should be Butlins Behind Bars.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Joke.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06There's some young people that come to Vinney Green that's got got no intentions of changing.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09They see this just as part of their life.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12They've got caught, so you serve the time.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15'It's for like, little kids, and it's not kind of me.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19'I need to be moved on to somewhere bigger.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22'Prefer to go to Ashfield, or somewhere like that.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25'A youth offenders' institute.'
0:13:25 > 0:13:31Some young people would rather go to a prison, because they see a prison having more status.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34It makes them perhaps, in their eyes, a bit harder.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Ryan also wants to prove that he's tough.
0:13:43 > 0:13:49He aspires to the trappings of what the children associate with a gangster lifestyle.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54The latest must-have in Vinney Green are rosary beads.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56My mate's sending me some beads.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59They should be coming any day now.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03- What sort of beads?- Rosemary beads.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05Everyone wears them in prison, like.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08She's not Catholic, and she's wearing them.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13It's a prison thing, innit?
0:14:13 > 0:14:15What does it mean?
0:14:15 > 0:14:20Basically, it means all things.
0:14:20 > 0:14:26It can also mean you've been to prison. That's one reason.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29Or you could be Catholic, and that's another reason.
0:14:29 > 0:14:35For Ryan, rosary beads represents that you are in prison or have been in prison, and then your status.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40And perhaps for Ryan in particular, his status, how he feels about himself,
0:14:40 > 0:14:45this is meant to be making him something important or big in his eyes.
0:14:48 > 0:14:54I've been going to special needs schools since I was about six.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59Didn't like it, kept running away from home, mixing with the wrong people.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04Smoking weed... and basically I got into trouble.
0:15:06 > 0:15:12My family's never been in trouble, but I'm basically the bad one out of my family,
0:15:12 > 0:15:16There's always one who's the bad apple.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Robin, Ryan's dad, is separated from his mum,
0:15:19 > 0:15:22and has four children older than Ryan.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Ryan has lived with him since he was four.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Ryan, my favourite little boy, on his beanbag.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34When he was born at the hospital, he was an emergency Caesarean.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40He was a distressed baby, just didn't seem to do anything.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44Two there. He couldn't use his hands or nothing.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46"Uh, uh", that's all he would say.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51And he'd sleep a lot. He...wouldn't involve in anything.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54He couldn't talk until he was five and a half, six.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58I took him to speech therapy, and also play therapy, and also
0:15:58 > 0:16:02the paediatrician and everything, to get him on track.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06It really makes me upset and it really does get to me, because
0:16:06 > 0:16:09I feel that I've not done the job properly. You know?
0:16:09 > 0:16:12I feel that... what have I done wrong?
0:16:12 > 0:16:14Why is it that it's turned out like this?
0:16:14 > 0:16:18My kids are just the world to me, you know.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22Always have been. And this one is real hard work, Ryan.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24But I'm still there...for him.
0:16:26 > 0:16:33- WOMAN:- Obviously when Ryan arrived, it was very easily identified there were vulnerability concerns.
0:16:37 > 0:16:43The paperwork that came with Ryan also suggested that, but you could tell, you know,
0:16:43 > 0:16:50with conducting the assessments that the unit undertakes, that
0:16:50 > 0:16:55his level of understanding would cause problems within the secure unit.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58For his own protection, Ryan is moved around the unit
0:16:58 > 0:17:02five minutes after the other boys are taken to their classes.
0:17:05 > 0:17:10Ryan, on the boys' block, knows that when people are being moved around
0:17:10 > 0:17:13is the best time to settle scores.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21He went down and held his nose,
0:17:21 > 0:17:23I think he broke his nose.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28I got taken back to my room and put in my room for most of the day.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31Reactive violence on the unit is common.
0:17:31 > 0:17:36What is of more concern to staff is that this incident was premeditated.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Basically, we was arguing behind our doors at night.
0:17:39 > 0:17:44And he was shouting stuff to me and just...being a prick, basically,
0:17:44 > 0:17:47saying "I'm going to batter you in the morning"
0:17:47 > 0:17:49and stuff like that.
0:17:49 > 0:17:54Obviously in the morning, he said he was messing about, but to me he was threatening to punch me.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57You know, I don't like that.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01The next morning, I challenged him about it, and it ended up...
0:18:01 > 0:18:05he turned around and, after he'd been saying he was going to punch me all night
0:18:05 > 0:18:06I didn't know what he was going to do.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10So as soon as he turned around, I retaliated and punched him.
0:18:10 > 0:18:16The victim, when he made the abusive comments the night before, he was safe. Ryan couldn't get to him.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18Obviously, he just forgot the next morning.
0:18:18 > 0:18:23Everybody comes out, ending result that the young person had a broken nose.
0:18:23 > 0:18:30Ryan will receive a red card for this assault, and he will lose all his privileges from now.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33So if he's got any electrical items in his room, they will be removed,
0:18:33 > 0:18:38and Ryan will be kept away from the other young person, and it will be at Ryan's detriment.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42If two wanted to go to the gym, it would be Ryan that didn't go.
0:18:42 > 0:18:48Ryan still has to go to school, but he will be denied all other activities for 48 hours.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51- He remains unrepentant. - ..Yeah, but this is it -
0:18:51 > 0:18:55we're not going to reward you for breaking someone's nose, are we?
0:18:55 > 0:18:59- I didn't break someone's nose. - It was too out of shape not to be.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03It was pointing that way and that way as well, so it's a pretty safe bet.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05- It's bust!- I couldn't care less,
0:19:05 > 0:19:07I felt like punching him.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11Feeling LIKE punching him and actually doing the deed are two very...
0:19:11 > 0:19:14'Being kept up all night by the other young person'
0:19:14 > 0:19:17being quite mouthy to Ryan through the door -
0:19:17 > 0:19:20being a bit of a window warrior as we call them -
0:19:20 > 0:19:24was reason enough to punch him square on the nose.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27He thinks he's done the right thing.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30I can't believe he thinks that, though.
0:19:36 > 0:19:42Ash has been at Vinney Green for six weeks now, and he's still not prepared to comply with basic rules,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45like keeping his hands out of his trousers.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48You won't be going back to education then, because
0:19:48 > 0:19:53it's a health and safety risk if we've got to worry about other people fighting and stuff like that.
0:19:53 > 0:19:54INDISTINCT
0:19:54 > 0:19:58I'm sorry, but this is a really simple request.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00You won't be going back to education. It's your call.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02I won't be going education, then.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06But I'm not allowed to education, then people are going to have to
0:20:06 > 0:20:10start restraining me, ain't they, cos I'm not going back to my room.
0:20:10 > 0:20:15'If you're in somewhere like Vinney Green, you've got very little control about what you do,
0:20:15 > 0:20:20'because we dictate what you do and how you do it.'
0:20:20 > 0:20:21Shove it in your face.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26'Ashley, because he's got no control in his life, is taking the only action
0:20:26 > 0:20:32'he can do, by manipulating certain situations where you know the staff have to respond in a certain way.
0:20:34 > 0:20:39Another rule is that the kids can't stop and block the corridors...
0:20:39 > 0:20:41so that's exactly what he does.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45'It comes to the stage with Ashley where we've got to get him to move.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48'Restraint is always the last line of our defence, really -
0:20:48 > 0:20:50'try everything else first.'
0:20:59 > 0:21:06'Ashley cries out for attention, and he will usually do really negative things to get that attention.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11'The aftermath of that - he is really low.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13'He's usually very apologetic afterwards.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15'But that's how Ash is,
0:21:15 > 0:21:17'that's how he's coped.'
0:21:20 > 0:21:24- How does it feel when you get restrained or something like that? - Great.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Why? Explain that to me.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28It's a thrill. It's a buzz.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Just like getting in a fight on the out, it's a buzz.
0:21:37 > 0:21:43There's a perception amongst the children that to get restrained proves how hard they are.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47This is the sixth time Ash has been restrained at Vinney Green.
0:21:47 > 0:21:53But here, restraints have been specially developed so that the children don't get hurt.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57'It's not much fun if you're 13 or 14, being
0:21:57 > 0:22:00'dealt with by three or four big members of staff.
0:22:00 > 0:22:07'We do try and do that so that they don't look completely stupid or lose face or loss of dignity.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11'But they're children, and should be treated as children.'
0:22:19 > 0:22:23Over at the other block, Ryan's been at Vinney Green for six weeks now.
0:22:23 > 0:22:30He's received a letter from his mate who's at a secure training centre, which is more like an adult prison.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34"I've been sent back down
0:22:34 > 0:22:40"back in Medway. I get out two weeks after you.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44"We should meet up and get fucked out of our heads,
0:22:44 > 0:22:46"get a car or something.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49"Request a transfer to here. It's better than Vinney Green."
0:22:50 > 0:22:52My favourite words is "big it up",
0:22:53 > 0:22:56and basically "I'm going to duke you up"...
0:22:56 > 0:23:00and the way my mate says it, it's funny.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04He just goes, "Yeah, I'm going to duke you up"!
0:23:05 > 0:23:08Like it's basically... gonna rush someone.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13If you want to know what that means, it's basically, gonna rob someone up for their money or something.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Basically, it's slang talk.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19You go up to people who don't know the slang words,
0:23:19 > 0:23:22and then they're gonna go "What does that mean?"
0:23:22 > 0:23:26and you'll be like "You'll find out if you keep pissing me off."
0:23:26 > 0:23:30We talk like that cos we think we're bad, but we're not.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34Like, we all think we're bad, but...
0:23:34 > 0:23:37we know the truth, we're not bad.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Cos it's all about the people who we hang around with.
0:23:45 > 0:23:52Ryan has never been in trouble here, but the temptation to succumb to peer pressure is very high for him.
0:23:55 > 0:24:02Determined to push for a transfer, Ryan demands a phone call.
0:24:02 > 0:24:07He's not allowed to make it at the time he wants, so he copies the
0:24:07 > 0:24:11other boys' behaviour, even though he's never been restrained before.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29I think he wanted a phone call because he'd have to come back across.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32What he didn't realise was, he's got to comply and go to his room, and
0:24:32 > 0:24:35then when the other young people are back,
0:24:35 > 0:24:37he'll get his phone call.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39But he wasn't prepared to do that.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41He was quite threatening towards staff as well.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45So he was threatening to hit people and...whatever, you know?
0:24:45 > 0:24:50They all just try to push the boundaries that little bit when they want something, you know.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52But he's not usually like that, is he?
0:24:52 > 0:24:55No. And he'll go back and sit down for five minutes or so,
0:24:55 > 0:24:59realise what an idiot he's been and he'll probably be quite nice in ten minutes' time.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02I was, like, I'm going to punch you
0:25:02 > 0:25:05if you don't get out of my space, basically.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09And it didn't happen and I got dragged back to my room.
0:25:12 > 0:25:17After he's calmed down, Ryan is allowed the phone call,
0:25:17 > 0:25:18but there's no hope of a transfer.
0:25:22 > 0:25:29The staff call in Lyn, who works with the more vulnerable kids, to tackle Ryan's copycat behaviour.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33- Why did you phone your YOT worker today?- Because I want a transfer.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35You want a transfer?
0:25:35 > 0:25:37You must love it here!
0:25:37 > 0:25:39No, it's stressful here.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43- Why do you want a transfer, then?- I want to go somewhere with discipline.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45Don't you think we've got discipline here?
0:25:45 > 0:25:48No. I'm getting away with everything here.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Feels like a holiday camp, like people say.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56I don't want to go out, and people calling this place a holiday camp,
0:25:56 > 0:26:01and then saying, "Ah, you've been to a holiday camp, that's not a strict place at all."
0:26:01 > 0:26:05But the lure of a supposedly harder institution won't go away.
0:26:05 > 0:26:12- Yeah, but if I went to an SDC it would scare me not to go back there again.- You think so?
0:26:12 > 0:26:15In here it's like a children's home.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19I won't learn my lesson, and I'll come back.
0:26:21 > 0:26:26I think it's probably true in society that people are looking to belong to something.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30Some people belong in their families, and that works for them.
0:26:30 > 0:26:31Some belong with their friends.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35Some people's friends are their gangs, and people want to belong.
0:26:35 > 0:26:41And for Ryan, I know he's got a good mate. He belongs with that person.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43Unfortunately, their...
0:26:43 > 0:26:47sense of fun and their purpose is gained from doing things
0:26:47 > 0:26:50which actually aren't allowed, and that's what breaking the law is.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59Ash has been at Vinney Green for eight weeks now,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02and he's still behaving in the same way.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06After disrupting a class, he refuses to move.
0:27:06 > 0:27:11Normally with Ashley if you try and cajole him to moving, you know,
0:27:11 > 0:27:14just gentle sort of taps on the back, etc.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Sometimes Ashley will move, other times he won't.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20And that's when... You can see from the CCTV footage, that I,
0:27:20 > 0:27:25with another member of staff, gave each other the wink, which was when we decided that we had to move him.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29There was no other way out of it, he had to move to enable the rest of the group to function.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34In a lot of cases, any attention is better than no attention.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38Young people like Ashley, sometimes all they want to do is physically be held.
0:27:38 > 0:27:45It's almost like replacing the parent that has been missing in their lives.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48It's almost like they just want a cuddle, really, a lot of the time,
0:27:48 > 0:27:51and once you've grabbed hold of them and they've had their little struggle, then all
0:27:51 > 0:27:57the tension goes out of them, then they relax, and there's never any hostility aimed towards you.
0:28:02 > 0:28:08These young people are very complex individuals with lots of issues.
0:28:08 > 0:28:15They have basically been told pretty much most of their lives they won't amount to anything.
0:28:15 > 0:28:21What you do see is some young people that have been brought up in really difficult circumstances.
0:28:21 > 0:28:26And you can see that the majority of them have not been treated well.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29Most of the young people in here have had other troubles.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31Life has not been good.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36When I was...
0:28:36 > 0:28:39about three...
0:28:39 > 0:28:43my ma abandoned me and left me with my dad
0:28:43 > 0:28:46And up until about the age of six,
0:28:46 > 0:28:51my...my...dad just
0:28:51 > 0:28:54beat me with a baseball bat,
0:28:54 > 0:28:57weapons, and just damaged me.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59At the age of six, I ran off
0:28:59 > 0:29:04and the police took me and stuck me in care for my own safety.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07And then since about the age of six, I've been in care
0:29:07 > 0:29:13and been moved around, home to home, children's homes, foster homes,
0:29:13 > 0:29:15different counties.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17Down to, like, Cornwall.
0:29:17 > 0:29:22I've been to different secure units. I've been to
0:29:22 > 0:29:25four other secure units.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29For my ma, I hated my mum for it, and still do.
0:29:32 > 0:29:33For my dad...
0:29:36 > 0:29:39..I wish that he gets exactly what he gave me.
0:29:42 > 0:29:48Obviously, I wasn't happy about it, I didn't like it, but there was nothing I could do about it.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52I was little...so...
0:29:57 > 0:30:01It takes a long time to undo the damage.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05Far longer than what we've got them for.
0:30:05 > 0:30:06So it's difficult,
0:30:06 > 0:30:10very difficult for him, yeah.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23Five people will have starter, main course and dessert.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26So that would be £5, yeah, this one?
0:30:26 > 0:30:33Ryan, like 50% of children in secure institutions, has been in and out of care.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37I come from around Exeter way.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39My mum lives down that way.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44I've been in care, stuff like that, really.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46When did you first go to care?
0:30:46 > 0:30:48When I was nine.
0:30:48 > 0:30:49Tell me about that.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53Just being a little shit, I suppose.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58Getting in trouble, going out.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01That's pretty much why I was in there.
0:31:01 > 0:31:09If you went into a restaurant and a typical service charge was 10% and if your bill came to £8,
0:31:09 > 0:31:12you would give the waitress 10% of what that bill was.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14Now £10 is easy to work out.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18What are you on about? If a waitress asked me for £8, I would give her £8.
0:31:18 > 0:31:19I wouldn't give her 10% of nothing.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22Yeah, but some people do. Traditionally, that's what...
0:31:22 > 0:31:26I don't give a shit about tradition. She'd get what she's given.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28OK. But if you were trying to work it out...
0:31:28 > 0:31:31Just tell me what it is, Cory, we ain't got all day.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34It is for you to try and work out. If I tell you, will you work out the next one?
0:31:34 > 0:31:37Tell me what it is and then I can crack on, can't I?
0:31:37 > 0:31:41If we had £8, 10% of it, we move the decimal point one way that way,
0:31:41 > 0:31:47because we just want to know 10%, so that would then become that number.
0:31:47 > 0:31:5180p. See, that weren't hard. If you start me off then I can do it then.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53It's much easier, isn't it?
0:31:54 > 0:31:59I'd been to quite a few schools. I got kicked out of a few of them and the schools that I did go to...
0:32:01 > 0:32:03..didn't really work out too well.
0:32:03 > 0:32:09Getting in trouble, not turning up to lessons, arguing with teachers, fighting.
0:32:09 > 0:32:13Sometimes I just get myself in trouble because I wanted to.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16I can't be arsed with it.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19We're looking for that one thing that will be like a light bulb
0:32:19 > 0:32:23coming on for them. "Oh, I can do something! I am good at something."
0:32:23 > 0:32:25Man, I hate cutting onions!
0:32:25 > 0:32:27For some people, it's often a vocational thing.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30And then, hopefully, that's something they can build on
0:32:30 > 0:32:33as they then go out and back into the community later.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38# I am a rude boy MC coming through like a lyrical G.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40# You spit grime but you ain't never heard something like me.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42# I provide my buzz like you provide my cars. #
0:32:42 > 0:32:45I'm coming through like a lyrical G
0:32:45 > 0:32:47And something that rhymes with rude boy.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50- I spit fires like Mars, but naturally.- That's it.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54The teachers work constantly on the children's self esteem.
0:32:54 > 0:33:00- Ashley has got four weeks to go now. - Fuck this. Scrap the whole lot.
0:33:00 > 0:33:01Stop there, stop there!
0:33:01 > 0:33:05- It's not that bad!- I bet you didn't save that either, did you?
0:33:05 > 0:33:08- I don't give a fuck.- Keep practising and you'll get better.
0:33:08 > 0:33:13I'm not good with my words so people say things I don't understand and it's, like...
0:33:13 > 0:33:16So, I've got to make a simple buzz for myself to understand it.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20But that's how you start. Eventually, you'll build on that.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23You just have to have confidence. It will come out.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27- I ain't got none of that confidence shit.- Well, you should have.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31He's a nice young man, actually, but really quite down on himself
0:33:31 > 0:33:34and doesn't feel that there's a whole lot that he can do.
0:33:34 > 0:33:38This is a frustration. So many times this happens.
0:33:38 > 0:33:42Somebody does a piece of work, we're on there going, "You've done great, you're doing really well."
0:33:42 > 0:33:44"No, it's rubbish."
0:33:47 > 0:33:49Ashley, come on. Stop it.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53Ashley, come on, then.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01HE SCREAMS AND BANGS
0:34:02 > 0:34:06Thinking about going makes me, like, the happiest man.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08I just can't wait.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11I can't wait to get wrecked.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16Can't wait to have fun. Can't wait to see my mates.
0:34:16 > 0:34:17Can't wait to smoke a fag...
0:34:19 > 0:34:23..and can't wait to get up to my usual self,
0:34:23 > 0:34:25my troubled self.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30By Christmas, I'll be back inside, I reckon.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38Why?
0:34:38 > 0:34:39I don't know. It's just my life.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43Trouble.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53Underpinning all the work here is building the kids' self confidence.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57Ryan gets one to one input.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01He's dropped the idea of wanting a transfer and is making progress.
0:35:08 > 0:35:10How are we going to get these two, then?
0:35:10 > 0:35:13- I don't know whether it's going to be possible.- It ain't.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17The staff try and focus on something the kids are passionate about.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20In Ryan's case, it's cars.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23What about buying your own car and doing that up?
0:35:23 > 0:35:26Yeah, well, how am I going to get the money to get a car?
0:35:26 > 0:35:28I've taught you how to clean cars.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32- Yeah?- So you could clean cars, charge £10 a car.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36- Clean 20 cars, you've got 200.- What, when the rain's about now?- Yeah.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39Say you clean 20 cars, that's £200.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43£200 buys you something like this, you can start working on it with a
0:35:43 > 0:35:47bit of extra money from carrying on working and you do it up gradually.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52Perfect. You know, there's plenty more that
0:35:52 > 0:35:59you can do with cars, it's not just about just grabbing somebody else's car and going out and joy riding it.
0:35:59 > 0:36:04If you've got your own car that you care about and you know how to work on and treat well,
0:36:04 > 0:36:07then perhaps you'll end up having more respect
0:36:07 > 0:36:14for other people's property as well, because you sort of get to know what somebody's car means to them.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16- Better.- Yeah.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21"My youngest brother was only
0:36:21 > 0:36:26"three months...old.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29"I left school to look after him."
0:36:29 > 0:36:33They're also working on things Ryan struggles with.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36"When I was 12 years old..."
0:36:36 > 0:36:40The unit sees dramatic rises in educational achievement.
0:36:40 > 0:36:46On average, reading ages improve by two years for young people who stay for three months or longer.
0:36:46 > 0:36:54When I was on the out, I wouldn't go to school and now I have learnt how to, basically, write properly, read.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57Basically, do all that.
0:37:02 > 0:37:09Obviously, the concern is when he leaves, because he's not going to have 24-7 supervision.
0:37:11 > 0:37:18It's so easy to go off the rails when you first go out, because you've been locked inside
0:37:18 > 0:37:21and the first thing you want to do is go and see your mates,
0:37:21 > 0:37:26not come in at a certain time and that is when a lot of young people fail.
0:37:28 > 0:37:34They can be easily swayed by other young people and that, to me, is about being accepted.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42When he leaves Vinney Green, Ryan is going home to live with his dad.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46OK, just reading them, do you think they're fair? I do.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49Ryan is being allowed out on certain conditions.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53At his visit, his dad has brought with him a set of rules
0:37:53 > 0:37:56so that Ryan knows exactly what's expected of him when he goes home.
0:37:56 > 0:38:03"If you do go out during the week, you'll be back home no later than 9.30pm."
0:38:03 > 0:38:06You've never been able to stick to certain rules.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09Ryan's case manager, Georgina, has to make sure
0:38:09 > 0:38:13that he fully understands the implications of these rules.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17"You will come home after school so I can see how school went."
0:38:17 > 0:38:19Do you understand what that means?
0:38:19 > 0:38:21What do you think Dad meant by that?
0:38:21 > 0:38:24That if I had some bad days,
0:38:24 > 0:38:26I'd do a runner.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29I shouldn't do that. I should speak my problems.
0:38:29 > 0:38:31Right, it's about ironing out problems.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34- Dad can't do anything. He's not a mind reader, is he?- No.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37If you don't tell him, he can't do anything about it.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40What you practise and what you've learned from being in here,
0:38:40 > 0:38:43you've got to try and do that outside, haven't you?
0:38:43 > 0:38:50And I think, you know, if you think you're being dragged into something, you have got to talk to somebody.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53You have got to talk to Dad, because it's too late once you've, you know,
0:38:53 > 0:38:58gone beyond that and you've done something wrong. I know you can be easily encouraged, can't you?
0:38:58 > 0:39:01And your mates are having a good time
0:39:01 > 0:39:05and you think you're having a good time because they're including you.
0:39:05 > 0:39:10You've got to think about what your goal is, and that's about keeping to
0:39:10 > 0:39:13the rules and boundaries and keeping out of trouble.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17You can easily get drawn into it, Ryan, you know that.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21- I know.- Anybody can. All right?
0:39:21 > 0:39:24Not everyone makes plans with their family.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27The other Ryan has his own plans for his life
0:39:27 > 0:39:31and the 210 days of discipline seem to have had an effect.
0:39:31 > 0:39:38This is a careers book, which just tells me about how to join, what it's like in there,
0:39:38 > 0:39:41the training you've got to go through.
0:39:41 > 0:39:47It tells you about the pay and pension, what happens if you get injured, stuff like that.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50It sounds quite good, like. Well, not getting injured!
0:39:50 > 0:39:53But I mean, like, all the stuff they give you.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55If I get out,
0:39:55 > 0:40:00the only thing that would bother me is like, getting back into drugs and stuff like that, because obviously
0:40:00 > 0:40:03I'm one of those people that did enjoy a smoke.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05Like, smoking cannabis.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08And if I had the choice, I would probably do it again,
0:40:08 > 0:40:13but the fact I'm getting older now, I want to get out and join, like, the Marines when I get out, so...
0:40:13 > 0:40:19Obviously, you've got to be fit to do that and when I get out, I want to get into that as soon as possible
0:40:19 > 0:40:22so I don't have a chance to get back into drugs.
0:40:22 > 0:40:27Since I've come in here, I've been a lot fitter and stuff like that because, obviously, we still have
0:40:27 > 0:40:32a laugh and that in here, but we just can't get the alcohol, the drugs and stuff like that,
0:40:32 > 0:40:36so even if we wanted it, we can't, which is a good thing about here, in a way.
0:40:42 > 0:40:47Ash has been at Vinney Green for ten weeks now and he, too, is changing.
0:40:47 > 0:40:52- It's called rendering.- I'm learning to plaster, paint and decorate.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55I'm doing this, then I've got to wait for it to dry.
0:40:55 > 0:41:00And then all the little holes, fill it back up.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04Ashley is the type of lad you just warm to.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07He's one of the ones I wish we had for two years,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10if not longer!
0:41:10 > 0:41:13If he got into college with different friends,
0:41:13 > 0:41:18positive role models, there is possibly a chance for Ash.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20So, one in the front, one in the back?
0:41:20 > 0:41:27The best thing in Vinney Green is probably the vocational centre, for me, personally.
0:41:30 > 0:41:35It's helped me to take my anger out on something positive,
0:41:35 > 0:41:40so that if I feel frustrated and I come over here, I work it off.
0:41:40 > 0:41:45I do work and it feels like when I leave, I don't feel angry.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52It does help me to maybe think better.
0:41:52 > 0:41:56It's given me time to think about things.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59What happened? I'm asking you, do you want help.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02Yeah, you are.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04- Basically... - You've got to do it faster.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06- Like, more than that.- Yeah.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08Basically, just slop it on.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11It's been ten days since Ash has been restrained.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15Being less difficult and disruptive has helped him to make some friends.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18- Get back over the wall now. - Aw, he's so cute, isn't he?
0:42:20 > 0:42:23Isn't he?
0:42:23 > 0:42:25I just said you're cute, right?
0:42:25 > 0:42:29- That's nice to know. - He's so cute, isn't he?
0:42:29 > 0:42:32I told my mother about him the other day, as well.
0:42:32 > 0:42:33Look at that ass!
0:42:33 > 0:42:35Yeah, Ashley, fucking shut up.
0:42:35 > 0:42:37# Shaking that ass!
0:42:37 > 0:42:40# Watch you, baby, shaking that ass. #
0:42:42 > 0:42:50Ryan has managed to get his hands on rosary beads, although they're only copied onto a T shirt.
0:42:50 > 0:42:55But as he settles down to his last week at Vinney Green, he's found something he enjoys.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58Every time he's out here, he works really hard.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01There's a few kids that will come out and will do it.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05But he'll do the work the entire time, no matter what you ask him to do. He's more than happy.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09I imagine he'll end up doing something like this, hopefully get a job when he leaves.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12But unless they've got a job instantly, that day when they get out,
0:43:12 > 0:43:17even a couple of days, they're back into not being bothered.
0:43:17 > 0:43:18So it is hard.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22It's a shame, really. They do a lot of work in here that's really good and then go out
0:43:22 > 0:43:25to the same friends, the same group of mates that are causing trouble.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29And it's easy for them to get back into the lifestyle straight away.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34Convicted criminal.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36- See you in a bit.- Yeah, yeah.
0:43:37 > 0:43:43When I switch my lights off and I go to bed, I'm going to be thinking about Friday night,
0:43:43 > 0:43:46when I go to the rave
0:43:46 > 0:43:49and get smashed out of my face.
0:43:49 > 0:43:53- But do you think going to a rave is a good way to start?- Yeah.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56- Best of luck, right? You take it easy.- Yeah.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59- And stay out of trouble, all right? - Do you think I could get a hug?
0:43:59 > 0:44:00Yeah.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03- Take care. Don't come back this time.- I won't.
0:44:03 > 0:44:04Let's go.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11Ryan.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14- All the best. - After three months, Ryan leaves.
0:44:14 > 0:44:19But he must stick to the rules, otherwise he could face returning to Vinney Green.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33Ash has a few more days to go.
0:44:36 > 0:44:42The plan for him is to stay in his local area and to go to
0:44:42 > 0:44:46a community home with four other young people.
0:44:46 > 0:44:51And to get him on some kind of painting and decorating training course.
0:44:51 > 0:44:53He's got a natural flare for that.
0:44:54 > 0:45:01The work that I've done here is probably the best achievement that I've done in my life.
0:45:01 > 0:45:04I'm not used to working this hard.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07Normally I give up. I don't want to do nothing.
0:45:07 > 0:45:14I want to really want to stay out of trouble, get myself a job, get myself a missus and settle down.
0:45:14 > 0:45:16Not be in and out of these places.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18So, it's all good.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20All good.
0:45:20 > 0:45:24It's just up to me now, it's what I choose.
0:45:27 > 0:45:29OK. Ashley?
0:45:29 > 0:45:32He's been excellent in vocational. Excellent.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35He's had a lot of time with John and
0:45:35 > 0:45:41positively started talking, for the first time, about, "Actually, maybe I could do this when I leave."
0:45:41 > 0:45:44Rather than, "I'll go and do something else wrong."
0:45:44 > 0:45:46Because he talks about that a lot.
0:45:46 > 0:45:51But the plans for his departure are proving anything but straightforward.
0:45:51 > 0:45:56There was a rumour at the beginning of this week that the placement had broken down.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59They were basically notifying us
0:45:59 > 0:46:04to say that they were looking for something else and they needed to do a risk assessment.
0:46:04 > 0:46:09If someone comes and tells him, you're not going where you thought you were going,
0:46:09 > 0:46:12he's going to be a problem between now and when he goes, I'm sure.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16He doesn't like not knowing, I think.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19He needs to know at the time where he's going.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27His last full day begins with a surprise visit
0:46:27 > 0:46:29from the police.
0:46:30 > 0:46:35I'm not sure if he's about to be charged.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39But he's not exactly in the best of spirits at the moment.
0:46:39 > 0:46:45You would think that knowing that somebody is locked up for this period of time,
0:46:45 > 0:46:51that they would come and deal with outstanding matters within the first week or two weeks of him being here.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54But that obviously isn't always the case.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57Ash is not told what's going to happen to him.
0:46:59 > 0:47:03The police come to interview me about a burglary.
0:47:03 > 0:47:09Me and my brother supposedly broke into a house that was a cannabis factory
0:47:09 > 0:47:12and apparently robbed it.
0:47:12 > 0:47:14But I don't know nothing about it.
0:47:17 > 0:47:22They've left it like that and they said if it comes against it,
0:47:22 > 0:47:27it could be that I charged when I get released and I could be re-arrested.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29Are you worried about it?
0:47:29 > 0:47:30No, not at all.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36It doesn't really bother me.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39It's just that I want to get out.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41Anything that happens, happens.
0:47:41 > 0:47:43But as long as I get out, I'm cool.
0:47:48 > 0:47:54His last night is spent not knowing whether he will be arrested at the gates in the morning.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03You must attend your appointments.
0:48:03 > 0:48:08If you miss two appointments, you'll be...
0:48:08 > 0:48:10Your...
0:48:10 > 0:48:15Something has not been something...
0:48:15 > 0:48:19Within two weeks, Ryan has broken the rules.
0:48:19 > 0:48:25He's failed to attend important meetings and has received a final warning.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28Not very happy with it, of course. He should have gone.
0:48:28 > 0:48:30He had enough warnings. The day before, he was warned.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33He was warned in the night and he was warned in the morning.
0:48:33 > 0:48:37And when I went, I told him, and also rang him three times.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40He just wouldn't get out of bed. It's as simple as that.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43So, it was down to him. I can't hold his hand and take him there.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47If he can't be bothered, he'll end up where he ended up before.
0:48:47 > 0:48:51I broke another one of my dad's rules.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53How's he feeling about that?
0:48:53 > 0:48:57Kind of upset and angry at the same time.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00But life goes on, doesn't it?
0:49:00 > 0:49:01It's all good.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19Ash is given his last breakfast behind bars.
0:49:25 > 0:49:27He's quite a prolific offender.
0:49:27 > 0:49:33If I'm absolutely honest, it's kind of a way of life for him.
0:49:33 > 0:49:35I think he finds comfort
0:49:35 > 0:49:38in being with his friends and offending,
0:49:38 > 0:49:40because it's like a family.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44So, it's 50-50, really.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47I wouldn't be surprised if we saw Ashley back here.
0:49:47 > 0:49:52But I'm crossing my fingers, like I do with all young people, that he won't come back.
0:49:52 > 0:49:56When he leaves Vinney Green, social services will take over
0:49:56 > 0:49:59responsibility for where Ash will live.
0:49:59 > 0:50:03I'm a free man. I want to walk out of that gate right now.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06His social worker has come to collect him.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08But he's got bad news.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10They haven't found him a bed.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15A referral was made to the placement.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19There wasn't a bed available and nothing's been sorted out.
0:50:19 > 0:50:21Disgusting.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23Absolutely disgusting.
0:50:23 > 0:50:26- Where are they going to take him? - They haven't got anything for him.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30Could be a foster placement in Weston.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33- He'll run away from that. - He'll be gone tonight.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36He's got savings. Money with him?
0:50:36 > 0:50:3820p?
0:50:38 > 0:50:42But Georgina still has to break the bad news to him.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53He may get a little bit upset.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55I'm sure I would.
0:50:55 > 0:50:57Because there was a placement already set up.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04How many times are they going to do that to them?
0:51:19 > 0:51:23He's left here now without a bed.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26Nowhere to go, I don't know where he's going.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29So they've got to find something for him. And it could be...
0:51:29 > 0:51:31anything, really.
0:51:47 > 0:51:48Jump in the car.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02There's no sign of the police at the gate.
0:52:02 > 0:52:10But Ash leaves Vinney Green with 20p in his pocket and no idea where he's going to stay tonight.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13I gave him 50-50, earlier this morning.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16We're not looking at 50-50 now. Because he's probably
0:52:16 > 0:52:18going to run away from anywhere he is.
0:52:18 > 0:52:23He's only taken 20p savings with him. So, what's he going to do?
0:52:23 > 0:52:26I don't know. I don't want to jinx him, but it's not looking good.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35It's switched off.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38Not seen him today. Not heard from him.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41Not a word or a dicky bird.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45Ryan has started to hang out with his old mates.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49It's nearly midnight and he's failed to come home.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53He's obviously decided it's more fun getting into trouble
0:52:53 > 0:52:58than it is being home and sleeping and not getting into trouble.
0:52:58 > 0:52:59There's nothing else I can do.
0:52:59 > 0:53:04I can't chain him to the wall or something, or go down there and bust his...
0:53:04 > 0:53:09You know, sort of bring him back here and say, "You've got to be here and you're not doing this."
0:53:09 > 0:53:11It doesn't work that way.
0:53:11 > 0:53:16I don't know how I feel. I just feel so mixed up and so let down.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39Hi, have you got Ryan?
0:53:39 > 0:53:42Lovely. OK, do you want to come through to the side gate?
0:53:45 > 0:53:49Four weeks after Ryan left Vinney Green,
0:53:49 > 0:53:55he arrives back for the third time in nine months.
0:53:59 > 0:54:03- Hi, Ryan.- Hi, Ryan, welcome back!
0:54:04 > 0:54:07Welcome back, mate. Do you want to come through?
0:54:07 > 0:54:10I am one of those people who do believe that sometimes young people
0:54:10 > 0:54:14do need to be detained, actually, for their own good, for society's good.
0:54:15 > 0:54:20We need to do that as humanely and as positively as possible.
0:54:20 > 0:54:22Try and treat them with respect and dignity.
0:54:44 > 0:54:48It's six months since Ash left Vinney Green.
0:54:48 > 0:54:55He stayed with a foster family, then went into a flat provided by social services.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58He decided to leave and is now living in a squat.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04I had a vision I could change when I got out.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08Had a vision I could change when I got out but,
0:55:08 > 0:55:13I don't know. Vocational, construction, found something I liked.
0:55:13 > 0:55:15And then I got out and started following it.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17Went to college for about a month.
0:55:17 > 0:55:21Got on a painting and decorator's course, which is what I wanted to do.
0:55:21 > 0:55:22Sorted that out.
0:55:22 > 0:55:29And then I lost my temper one day in college, got threw out and banned for life from all colleges.
0:55:29 > 0:55:32So in a way, I fucked that up for myself.
0:55:32 > 0:55:34But I tried.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37Can't say that I didn't try, cos I did.
0:55:37 > 0:55:43I followed it up. I didn't get out and go straight back. I tried, I went to college, I pursued it.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46And then it just didn't work out.
0:55:46 > 0:55:48So, back to the way I am.
0:55:48 > 0:55:52The fact that it got me away from all my friends,
0:55:52 > 0:55:56the drugs, it just got me away from it all and it gave me time to think.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01But you get outside and things don't go how you want it to do
0:56:01 > 0:56:06and then you end up straight back in the same situation as you was before you went in.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09I really wanted to change in Vinney. But then...
0:56:09 > 0:56:12I got out and things just went, like...
0:56:14 > 0:56:18Fuck knows, like an aeroplane dropping on to two towers.
0:56:18 > 0:56:21Just, like, disaster. Kaboom!
0:56:21 > 0:56:23Basically.
0:56:23 > 0:56:25Just everything got fucked up.
0:56:26 > 0:56:30I still can change. I still reckon I can change.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33But it's fucking hard.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36So hard.
0:56:36 > 0:56:38But one day I'll change.
0:56:38 > 0:56:40One day.
0:56:50 > 0:56:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:56:54 > 0:56:58E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk