It is worrying that restraint is used more with girls in the secure estate than with boys (CYP Now, 24-30 September). But it is more worrying that so many children are being restrained at all.
In 2007, 78 imprisoned children received hospital treatment for the damage done by restraint, assault or self-harm. Reports from the Prisons Inspectorate reveal that a third of under-18s in young offender institutions say they have felt unsafe, a third say they have been victimised by other children and a fifth say they have been victimised by a member of staff.
We hope the forthcoming government review of restraint will recommend that physical force only be used in exceptional circumstances. We should make the institutions safer and reserve them for the small number of children who commit serious violent crimes.
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