Government Stance on Restraint a ‘Step in the Right Direction’

Nacro, the crime reduction charity, has welcomed the Government's response to the independent report on restraint in juvenile secure settings as "an important step in the right direction" but expressed concern that pain compliance techniques of restraint could still be used in some circumstances.

Paul Cavadino, Chief Executive of Nacro, said:

"These measures are an important step in the right direction. If we want to influence difficult and disruptive young people towards controlling their anger and aggression, we must deal with them in ways that minimise the use of force and always avoid the use of violence.

"We therefore welcome the steps announced today, but we are concerned that pain compliance techniques could still be used in exceptional circumstances. Where restraint has to be used, the aim should be to maximise its effectiveness without deliberately inflicting pain on vulnerable young people."

ENDS

The Government’s response is available at

 http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/newsrelease151208a.htm