Latest figures show restraint was used 1,197 times in YOIs in England and Wales in the first three months of 2010.
The figure represents a 38 per cent increase on the same period in 2008 when the practice was used 870 times, and a 27 per cent increase on the same period last year when it was used 939 times.
The increase comes despite a drop in the overall level of youth custody during the same period — in March this year the figure stood at 2,209 compared to 2,625 in March 2009 and 2,877 in March 2008.
When the Labour government responded to an independent review on restraint in December 2008, ministers accepted most of its 58 recommendations, including one of its key themes — that restraint use be reduced.
Rob Allen, a former member of the Youth Justice Board, said: "This raises questions about whether the new government should look at this afresh.
"Are the existing mechanisms that were set up in the wake of the inquiry in 2008 having the impact on this problem that they should and, if not, should the government be looking to do something else?"
Last week, the government released its guidance on the use of physical restraint in secure training centres following a legal challenge by the Children's Rights Alliance for England.
The Ministry of Justice was unavailable for comment at the time CYP Now went to press.
