A weekly programme which focuses on people and the situations which shape their lives
Reporters Jim Douglas Henry, Jeremy James, Jeanne La Chard, Gillian Strickland, Desmond Wilcox, Harold Williamson

A sentence to borstal - anything from six months to two years - is meant to be not a punishment but a training for the outside world. It is often said that the best borstal boys are the worst citizens; that borstal training is acclimatisation for institutional life, not preparation for the world outside.
The high failure rate in borstals today may be a reflection on what happens inside a borstal, but it's also a criticism of what goes wrong after a boy is released. One probation officer in tonight's programme describes borstals as 'a method of disposal to ease the conscience.' He knows that six out of 10 borstal trainees are in trouble again within three years of release.

In the second of two programmes Man Alive follows a boy on his release, and with those in the prison and aftercare service responsible for the system, asks: what goes wrong?