High use of physical restraint found at Brinsford Young Offender Institution

Young inmates have experienced high levels of force and
unauthorised punishments at Brinsford Young Offender Institution,
the chief inspector of prisons said in a report, writes
Maria Ahmed.
 
The report, published on 19 July, found that there had been 255
incidents where staff had used physical restraint against inmates
during 2004, and said there was “no evidence” that the
incidents were being effectively monitored.
 
The chief inspector of prisons Anne Owers also raised concern over
high numbers of allegations of abuse, both by young people and
staff, and found that no anti-bullying policy was in place.
 
The report also found that young people at risk of self-harm or
suicide were often stripped of their own clothes and required to
wear tear-proof strip clothing for periods up to 24 hours, and that
this had occurred 32 times in 2004 and nine times in 2005.
 
The report said “inappropriate” placing of vulnerable
young people in strip-clothing contravened Prison Service practice
and raised particular concern about whether young adults or
children would be forcibly stripped if they refused to remove their
own clothes.

Report at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk