How often is it appropriate to use violent methods of restraint against young offenders?
In 2004 fourteen year old Adam Rickwood committed suicide at Hassockfield Secure Training Centre in County Durham. He is the youngest person to die in British custody. Shortly before his death, Adam had been carried to his cell, bleeding and face down, following the use upon him of a government-sanctioned restraint technique. A report into the circumstances of his death has now called for a national review into child custody restraint techniques. The charity INQUEST has gone further demanding a public inquiry into the deaths of all 29 children who have died in penal custody since 1990. Miriam O’Reilly is joined by Carol Pounder, Adam’s mother, Deborah Coles from the charity Inquest and David Hanson, Minister responsible for youth justice, to discuss what leads children in custody to commit suicide and how can we ensure it doesn’t happen again?
