The latest inspection report on Feltham young offender institution states many boys have less than 30 minutes daily access to fresh air. Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission considered such deprivation to be “seriously detrimental to the health, development and wellbeing of growing boys”. Apparently the prison has now moved to a system of 60 … Read more
A major inquiry conducted by the Office of Children’s Commissioner for England finds that only a tiny minority of children who are sexually abused within the family are helped by professionals. Around 50,000 cases of child sexual abuse were recorded by the police and social workers across the two years to March 2014, though the … Read more
The Commission on Freedom of Information issued a call for evidence on 9 October, with a deadline of midnight tonight. Article 39 has submitted evidence of important information brought into the public domain because of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This includes information: about the restraint techniques authorised for use in secure training centres … Read more
Two reports released yesterday underline the risks of rights violations in institutional settings. The first, a leaked report obtained by the BBC, tells of a 17 year-old disabled girl who was living in a residential health setting in Plymouth. She was sedated and flown to an adult setting in Dundee, as she approached her 18th … Read more
In a letter to Lord McNally, the Chair of the Youth Justice Board, Article 39, the Howard League for Penal Reform and INQUEST say we are “deeply troubled” that MTCnovo, the company taking over the management of Rainsbrook secure training centre, appears to have no experience of looking after vulnerable children in a residential setting. … Read more