Teen takes personal life at younger offenders’ establishment

A teenage prisoner took his own life two years after the Scottish Government pledged to stop sending children to the facility where he died.

Jonathan Beadle, 17, was found dead on Saturday at Polmont Young Offenders Institution just weeks ahead of his sentencing hearing.

The teenager is the latest youngster to die at the Falkirk facility, with Katie Allan, 21, William Brown, also known as William Lindsay, 16, and 20-year-old Jack McKenzie having also taken their own lives at the centre.

Last night there were renewed demands to shut the wing that houses children.

Beadle had been sent to Polmont after being convicted of acting in a disorderly manner and being in possession of weapons with intent to ‘assault and murder’ a 16-year-old girl.

William Lindsay, 16, died at Polmont Young Offenders Institution in 2018

Katie Allan, 21, was found dead in her cell at Polmont

Polmont Young Offenders Institutio in Stirlingshire

While the case was ongoing he stayed in a secure children’s unit before being moved to Polmont. The teenager died at the facility around three weeks before his sentencing at the High Court in Edinburgh, on August 2.

Yesterday, Wendy Sinclair-Gieben, HM Chief Inspector for Prisons in Scotland, said: ‘Every death of a family member is a tragedy, and the loss of a child is unimaginably agonising… and when they die in state care, that adds to the distress.’

Ms Sinclair-Gieben has previously said sending 16 and 17-year-olds to Polmont – especially those not yet convicted – was a breach of their human rights.

In March 2022, the Scottish Government said under-18s would no longer be sent to young offenders’ institutions. The Children (Care and Justice) Bill – which sets out that those under 18 will no longer be sent to prison – received royal assent last month.

Siobhian Brown, minister for victims and community safety, said: ‘We are working with the Scottish Prison Service and secure accommodation providers to commence these provisions shortly. 

Ms Allan was jailed for 16 months for dangerous driving 

Linda and Stuart Allan, the parents of Katie Allan 

‘The decision on whether to detain a child remains with the independent judiciary.’

Fiona Duncan, formerly chairman of the Independent Care Review, said: ‘Getting an alternative plan in place for each child is still achievable today, so that no child is in prison. The wing of HM YOI Polmont that houses children must be closed as soon as possible.’

On Tuesday, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child came into force. It says children should not be held in prison but, when necessary, in secure care.

Police said there are ‘not thought to be any suspicious circumstances’ regarding Beadle’s death and a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) will now be called.

A joint inquiry into Allan and Lindsay, who were found dead in their cells in separate incidents in 2018, is expected to publish its findings later this year.

Speaking at the first day of the FAI at Falkirk Sheriff Court earlier this year, Katie’s mother Linda Allan told a prison officer Ms Allan ‘was being berated by fellow inmates’ on the day of her death. 

An FAI into McKenzie’s death was announced after he took his own life in 2021. A Scottish Prison Service spokesman yesterday said: ‘Every death, whether in prison custody or in our communities, is a tragedy.’

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