The charity sent a child protection referral to Stoke-on-Trent City Council about the use of forcible and routine strip searching of child prisoners at the facility.
Its move follows a report released by chief inspector of prisons Anne Owers on 28 September, which drew attention to the routine use of strip-searching of children on arrival at prison. Owers condemned the practice at Werrington as "excessive and unacceptable" and said the weaknesses in safety were "serious and required urgent management attention".
The Howard League has now asked Stoke council to conduct a child protection investigation. Frances Crook, director of the Howard League, said it was not the first time Werrington had been criticised for its strip-searching policies by the prisons inspectorate.
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