Children should not be kept in prison

In the wake of a damning Ofsted report into G4S-run Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre, letters criticising the use of prison for children have appeared in The Guardian.

The letters were by Carolyne Willow, Director of Article 39; Deborah Coles, Co-director at INQUEST; and Yvonne Bailey, mother of Joseph Scholes who died in Stoke Heath Young Offenders Institution when he was 16.

The Ofsted report found that children held at the facility were subjected to degrading treatment and racist comments by staff, some of whom were on drugs at the time.

The report said staff had behaved 'extremely inappropriately' with the children and caused them 'distress and humiliation'.

A particular incident revealed by the inspectors involved a child who had a fracture (possibly as a result of being restrained) who didn't receive medical assistance for 15 hours. This was as a result of doctors' advice being overruled by senior managers, something the report said happened often at the Centre.

At least six members of staff, including some in leadership positions, have been dismissed as a result of the incidents. 

You can read more about the report in this article in The Independent.