THE GIRLS OF STAMFORD HOUSE

Photos by the author

I spent six months hanging out with, talking to and taking pictures together with a varying group of girls between 11 and 18 at the juvenile detention centre Stamford House in London. It’s a secure unit for young offenders and you’ll only end up there if your crime is somewhat brutal—penalties start at about two months, to life—or if you need extreme protection, or if you’re suicidal.

The pecking order went from grand theft (if this was your crime you’d be at the absolute bottom) to murder (in which case you’d be the boss). There would be the most brutal beatings you ever saw. It'd be broken arms and legs type stuff. But afterwards people would still be best friends. They really did love each other, the social life on the inside was just different from on the outside.

Everyone would have their own room with a shower and toilet, which was considered an extreme luxury. The cost of keeping juvenile inmates is about €4.500 a week, as opposed to about €350 a week for an adult.

After a couple of months every girl’s room would be covered in idol posters, teddy bears and heaps upon heaps of make-up and lotions. No one smoked, and everyone took extreme care of their appearance. They would get super dolled up EVERY morning, something that was made harder by the fact that no one was allowed proper mirrors. Everyone would just have frosted pieces of metal drilled to their walls.

Before a new girl was due to arrive, everyone would know it. She would be referred to as “A fresh leaf,” and the mood would go very, very bad. The talk would be “If she’s hot, she’s going to get the shit kicked out her.”

The boys’ ward was in the same building, but there were patios separating the boys’ and the girls’ wards. Girls and boys would never come into direct contact. I was outside with three girls and they got a glimpse of a shadow of a boy through a tinted window. They were so boy-starved, they freaked.

For our last photography workshop we did proper fashion portraits. I helped people do their make-up and brought in clothes. One of the girls fell completely in love with a jean jacket that I brought. I told her she could have it, but forgot I had some change in my pocket. Afterwards chaos erupted when the coins were found. Apparently coins are great for swallowing if you want to hurt yourself.

If someone were about to leave the secure unit a member of the staff would start taking them out on short trips. I met this amazing girl, a 16-year-old, and she only wanted to go to art museums. But mostly people just went shopping.

ANETKA ZAKRZEWSKA

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