In October the Howard League for Penal Reform made a child protection complaint to Staffordshire County Council against the YOI about the use of forced and routine strip-searching of child prisoners at the prison. The issue came to light after a report by the chief inspector of prisons, Anne Owers, drew attention to the treatment of children on arrival at Werrington.
Frances Crook, director of the Howard League, asked the council to conduct a child protection investigation but last month the council wrote back, saying it would take no further action as current strip-searching rules comply with Prison Service standards.
In a letter, Sally Rees, deputy corporate director at Staffordshire council, said: "Strip searching is a lawful and legitimate intervention deployed by Werrington and all other prisons nationally and we appreciate that this practice is subject to considerable debate."
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