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Medway STC whistleblower calls for culture and practice reforms

6 mins read Youth Justice Youth Offending
Whistleblower who alerted authorities to abuse at Medway secure training centre says the review into the case shows there needs to be major changes to how staff work with young people before the issues will be resolved.

The inappropriate use of pain-inducing restraint techniques in youth custody was brought into sharp focus by the BBC Panorama investigation into Medway secure training centre (STC) in 2016.

Four men were cleared last year of misconduct charges brought in response to the investigation.

A serious case review (SCR) published in January 2019 by Medway Safeguarding Children Board concluded that use of restraint techniques involving inflicting pain "appeared to enable an environment of increased risk of abuse to children".

The National Offender Management Service took over the running of the centre from G4S in 2016, but an inspection report published last month also found evidence that pain-inducing restraint is still being used inappropriately by officers.

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