Young people report 'struggling to breathe' during custody restraints

A study by the Prisons Inspectorate into the use of restraint in the youth secure estate highlighted a number of concerns about the way it is used despite the introduction of a new system called Minimising and Managing Physical Restraint (MMPR) which focuses on de-escalation and safer techniques.

The new system was introduced following an independent review in 2009, prompted by the death of two boys in separate restraint incidents, one of whom, 15-year-old Gareth Myatt, died after he became unconscious during a restraint in a secure training centre.

Today’s report said children frequently reported to inspectors that they struggled to breathe during a restraint.

"There was a part when I was on the floor and I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t talk because the staff were constricting my windpipe – I don’t know whether they had an arm or a leg on me but I couldn’t talk to tell them to stop it,’ one boy told inspectors.

Another child said: “I couldn’t breathe. It felt like someone had their hands around my throat. I was telling staff that I couldn’t breathe but they weren’t listening. I didn’t pass out on this occasion but I have passed out in the past.”