Figures from the Youth Justice Board (YJB), made public by the government last week, show handcuffs were used eight times in 2008. This compares with their use on more than 40 occasions in 2006.
Metal handcuffs are used on children in STCs but not in young offender institutions (YOIs).
Lord Carlile, a leading campaigner on the use of restraint, said handcuff use is generally unacceptable. "I don't want to say handcuffs can never be used but we may well be at or near an acceptably low level."
The figures for the four STCs in England show handcuffs were not used at all at the Rainsbrook centre in Rugby and the Medway centre in Kent last year. They were used once in Oakhill in Milton Keynes and a total of seven times in Hassockfield in County Durham.
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