Borstal
Encyclopedia
A borstal was a type of youth prison in the United Kingdom, run by the 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 School
s 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 Gladstone Committee (1895) proposed the concept, 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. Except in Northern Ireland, the only corporal punishment officially available in Borstal 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. Only male inmates over 18 might be so punished. This power was very rarely used – there were only 7 birching cases in borstals in the 10 years to 1936. This birching power was available only in England and Wales (not in Scottish borstals). Caning
as a more day-to-day punishment was used in the single borstal in Northern Ireland but was not authorised in England, Scotland or Wales. Confusion on this matter arises perhaps because in Approved School
s, a quite different kind of youth institution based more on the open "boarding school" model, caning was a frequent official punishment for boys (maximum age 19).
Borstal institutions were 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." Some uncorroborated anecdotal evidence exists of unofficial brutality, both by staff towards the inmates and between inmates – though possibly no more than is the case for the prison system as a whole.
The Criminal Justice Act 1982
abolished the borstal system in the UK, introducing youth custody centres instead.
A similar system under the name "borstal" had also been introduced in several other states of the British Empire and Commonwealth, including Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland
the Criminal Justice Act, 1960 (Section 12) removed the term from use. 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.
Juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...
young people. The word is sometimes used loosely to apply to other kinds of youth institution or reformatory, such as Approved School
Approved School
Approved School is a term formerly used in the United Kingdom to mean a particular kind of residential institution to which young people could be sent by a court, usually for committing offences but sometimes because they were deemed to be beyond parental control...
s and Detention Centres
Detention center
A detention center or a detention centre is any location used for detention. Specifically, it can mean:*A jail or prison*A structure for immigration detention*An internment camp or concentration camp...
. 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.
History
Evelyn Ruggles-Brise
Sir Evelyn John Ruggles-Brise KCB was a British prison administrator and reformer, and founder of the Borstal system.-Biography:...
(1857–1935), a prison commissioner, to introduce the system, and the first such institution was established at Borstal Prison
Rochester (HM Prison)
HM Prison Rochester is a male Young Offenders Institution, located in the Borstal area of Rochester in Kent, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, and is located next to HMP Cookham Wood....
in a village called Borstal
Borstal, Kent
Borstal is a place in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. Originally a village near Rochester, it has become absorbed by the expansion of Rochester.The youth prison at Borstal gave its name to the Borstal reform school system.-History:...
, 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. Except in Northern Ireland, the only corporal punishment officially available in Borstal was the birch
Birching
Birching is a corporal punishment with a birch rod, typically applied to the recipient's bare buttocks, although occasionally to the back and/or shoulders.-Implement:...
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
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, just as in adult prisons. Only male inmates over 18 might be so punished. This power was very rarely used – there were only 7 birching cases in borstals in the 10 years to 1936. This birching power was available only in England and Wales (not in Scottish borstals). Caning
Caning
Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits with a single cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks or hand . Application of a cane to the knuckles or the shoulders has been much less common...
as a more day-to-day punishment was used in the single borstal in Northern Ireland but was not authorised in England, Scotland or Wales. Confusion on this matter arises perhaps because in Approved School
Approved School
Approved School is a term formerly used in the United Kingdom to mean a particular kind of residential institution to which young people could be sent by a court, usually for committing offences but sometimes because they were deemed to be beyond parental control...
s, a quite different kind of youth institution based more on the open "boarding school" model, caning was a frequent official punishment for boys (maximum age 19).
Borstal institutions were 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." Some uncorroborated anecdotal evidence exists of unofficial brutality, both by staff towards the inmates and between inmates – though possibly no more than is the case for the prison system as a whole.
The Criminal Justice Act 1982
Criminal Justice Act
Criminal Justice Act is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Canada relating to the criminal law...
abolished the borstal system in the UK, introducing youth custody centres instead.
A similar system under the name "borstal" had also been introduced in several other states of the British Empire and Commonwealth, including Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
the Criminal Justice Act, 1960 (Section 12) removed the term from use. 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.
Literature
- Irish writer Brendan BehanBrendan BehanBrendan Francis Behan was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also an Irish republican and a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army.-Early life:...
wrote of his experiences in the English borstal system in his 1958 autobiography Borstal BoyBorstal BoyBorstal Boy is an autobiographical 1958 book by Brendan Behan. The story depicts a young, fervently idealistic Behan who loses his naïveté over the three years of his sentence to a juvenile borstal, softening his radical Republican stance and warming to his fellow British prisoners...
. - In his 1959 short story, The Loneliness of the Long Distance RunnerThe Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner"The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" is a short story by Alan Sillitoe which was set in Irvine Beach, and published in 1959 as part of a short story collection of the same name. The work focuses on Colin, a poor Nottingham teenager from a dismal home in a blue-collar area, who has bleak...
, (included in the book of the same name) Alan SillitoeAlan SillitoeAlan Sillitoe was an English writer and one of the "Angry Young Men" of the 1950s.. He disliked the label, as did most of the other writers to whom it was applied.- Biography :...
wrote about a boy's time in a Borstal for robbing a bakery. - British Horror author, Clive BarkerClive BarkerClive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. Barker came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories which established him as a leading young horror writer...
, wrote a short story that took place at a borstal in his horror anthologyAnthologyAn anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
, Books of BloodBooks of BloodBooks of Blood are a series of horror fiction collections written by the British author Clive Barker.There are six books in total, each simply subtitled Volume 1 through to Volume 6, and were subsequently re-published in two omnibus editions containing three volumes each. Each volume contains four...
, specifically in the story "Pig Blood Blues".
Music
- Fresh – Out of Borstal, a 1970 album produced by Simon Napier-BellSimon Napier-BellSimon Napier-Bell has undertaken many jobs in the music industry, including bandboy, manager, producer, songwriter, journalist and author and gourmet...
. - The Faces song "Borstal Boys" was on their 1973 album Ooh La La.
- The BusinessThe BusinessThe Business may refer to:* The Business , a British weekly magazine* The Business , a novel by Iain Banks* The Business , an English punk rock/Oi! band* The Business , a 2005 film directed by Nick Love...
covered The Faces' track on the split CD with Dropkick MurphysDropkick MurphysDropkick Murphys are an Irish-American punk rock band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The band was initially signed to independent punk record label Hellcat Records, releasing five albums for the label, and making a name for themselves locally through constant playing and yearly St....
entitled Mob MentalityMob MentalityMob Mentality is a split 7" and album by Dropkick Murphys and The Business. Originally, the bands put out a split 7" single with the name Mob Mentality. This single consisted of three songs, two which were each band covering one of the other band's songs, and the third was an original song...
released in 2000. This recording features guest vocals by Dicky BarrettDicky BarrettRichard Michael Barrett , better known as Dicky Barrett, is the frontman of Ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and the announcer for Jimmy Kimmel Live...
of The Mighty Mighty BosstonesThe Mighty Mighty BosstonesThe Mighty Mighty Bosstones are an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. Since the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky Barrett, bassist Joe Gittleman, tenor saxophonist Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton and dancer Ben Carr have remained constant members...
. - Sham 69Sham 69Sham 69 is an English punk band that formed in Hersham in 1976.Although not as commercially successful as many of their contemporaries, albeit with a greater number of chart entries, Sham 69 has been a huge musical and lyrical influence on the Oi! and streetpunk genres. The band allegedly derived...
released a 1978 single called "Borstal Breakout". - Sick Of It AllSick of It AllSick of It All is an American hardcore punk band from Queens, New York. Formed in 1986, the band consisted of brothers Lou Koller on vocals and Pete Koller on lead guitar, Rich Cipriano on bass, and Armand Majidi on drums. There have been only two member changes since their inception, with Max...
covered the Sham 69 track on their album Outtakes for the OutcastOuttakes for the OutcastOuttakes for the Outcast is an album from New York hardcore punk band, Sick of It All. It contains unreleased original songs, B-sides, and cover versions, and was the last album released by the band on Fat Wreck Chords before their move to Abacus Recordings....
. - The Terrorways released the song "Never Been to Borstal" in 1979. Featured on the compilation AK79
- OxymoronOxymoron (band)Oxymoron is a German Oi!/streetpunk band formed in 1992. The band was founded by Sucker and his cousin Björn , along with two friends, Martin and Filzlaus .-Career:...
released the song "Borstal" in 1995 on their album Fuck The Nineties: Here's Our Noize. - British DJ Duke Dumont released "Feltham (the Borstal Beat)" on his EP "The Dominion Dubs"; the song contains at the introduction the sample from "Bend Over" by Wagon Christ.
- 1979 MadnessMadness (band)In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
song "Land of Hope and Glory" is about time spent in Borstal. - The Squeeze song "Vicky Verky" includes a part about a boy who steals hi-fi radios and consequently goes to Borstal.
- The Borstal Boys (a band from Kelso/Longview, Washington) derived their name from Borstal.
- The Borstal (a band From Jakarta, Indonesia) used the name after reading "The Medway Shore as It Was: Burham to Borstal" by John K. Austin.
- Borstal Beat Records, record label founded by Irish-American Celtic punkCeltic punkCeltic punk is punk rock mixed with traditional Celtic music. The genre was founded in the 1980s by The Pogues, a band of punk musicians in London who celebrated their Irish heritage. Celtic punk bands often play covers of traditional Irish folk and political songs, as well as original compositions...
band Flogging MollyFlogging MollyFlogging Molly is a seven-piece Irish-descendant band from Los Angeles, California, that is currently signed to their own record label, Borstal Beat Records.-Early years:...
.
Stage
- The 1940 play Boys in Brown by Reginald BeckwithReginald BeckwithReginald Beckwith was a British film and television actor, who made almost one hundred film and television appearances in his career.-Filmography:* Freedom Radio * Scott of the Antarctic...
was a comedy-satire about life in a borstal.
Film and television
- The 1949 film Boys in BrownBoys in BrownBoys in Brown is a 1949 British drama film directed by Montgomery Tully. Depicting life in a borstal for young offenders, it starred Jack Warner, Richard Attenborough, Dirk Bogarde and Jimmy Hanley.-Cast:* Jack Warner as Governor...
, written and directed by Montgomery TullyMontgomery TullyMontgomery Tully was an Irish film director and writer. Born in Dublin, Tully worked on low-budget British films, mostly crime dramas. One of his efforts, No Road Back, featured a young Sean Connery in a very early role...
, was an adaptation of the Beckwith play. It was made as a drama. - The film The Loneliness of the Long Distance RunnerThe Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (film)The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is a 1962 film, based on the short story of the same name.The screenplay, like the short story, was written by Alan Sillitoe....
, directed by Tony RichardsonTony RichardsonCecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson was an English theatre and film director and producer.-Early life:Richardson was born in Shipley, Yorkshire in 1928, the son of Elsie Evans and Clarence Albert Richardson, a chemist...
and starring Tom CourtenayTom CourtenaySir Thomas Daniel "Tom" Courtenay is an English actor who came to prominence in the early 1960s with a succession of films including The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner , Billy Liar , and Dr. Zhivago . Since the mid-1960s he has been known primarily for his work in the theatre...
, was set in a borstal. Released in 1962, the film was based on a book of the same name by Alan SillitoeAlan SillitoeAlan Sillitoe was an English writer and one of the "Angry Young Men" of the 1950s.. He disliked the label, as did most of the other writers to whom it was applied.- Biography :...
. - In 1979 a filmFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
about the borstal system was made, called ScumScum (film)Scum is a 1979 British crime drama film directed by Alan Clarke, portraying the brutality of life inside a British borstal. The story was originally made for the BBC's Play for Today strand in 1977, however due to the violence depicted in the film, it was withdrawn from broadcast...
, following on from a 1977 televisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
playPlay (theatre)A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
of the same name, which portrayed the borstal system as corrupt and brutal. - The 1983 Mai Zetterling film "Scrubbers" was about a girls borstal.
- In the British sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme, Linda La Hughes is constantly talking about being in a borstal.
- In the Channel Four satire Brass EyeBrass EyeBrass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries. A series of six aired on Channel 4 in 1997, and a further episode in 2001....
, borstals are humorously referred to as brutal punitive camps with ironic tasks and punishments. - Danny DyerDanny DyerDanny Dyer is an English actor, media personality, and chairman of Greenwich Borough, a non-League football team.-Biography:Daniel John Dyer was born in Custom House, an area of East London, to Antony and Christine Dyer...
starred in the 2000 film Borstal BoyBorstal Boy (film)Borstal Boy is a 2000 British/Irish romantic drama film adaptation of the Brendan Behan autobiographical novel of the same name. The film is directed and written by Irish playwright Peter Sheridan.-Plot:...
. - As an example of how the term "borstal" has come to be used loosely in a more general sense to describe any kind of penal institution, there is a BBC television series called Dog Borstal, about badly behaved dogs.
See also
- Her Majesty's Young Offender InstitutionHer Majesty's Young Offender InstitutionHer Majesty's Young Offenders Institution is a type of British prison intended for offenders aged between 18 and 20, although some prisons cater for younger offenders from ages 15 to 17, who are classed as juvenile offenders...
- Young offenderYoung offenderA young offender is a young person who has been convicted or cautioned for a criminal offence. Criminal justice systems often deal with young offenders differently from adult offenders, but different countries apply the term 'young offender' to different age groups depending on the age of criminal...
- Youth detention centerYouth detention centerA youth detention center, also known as a juvenile detention center , juvenile hall or, more colloquially as juvie, is a secure residential facility for young people, often termed juvenile delinquents, awaiting court hearings and/or placement in long-term care facilities and programs...
- Clonmel BorstalClonmel Borstal.St. Patrick's Borstal Institution, Clonmel was established in 1906 as a place of detention for young male offenders aged between 16 and 21...
External links
- 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
- 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), New York Times, 27 December 1908