ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the deaths of children in custody and what more needs to be thought about within child custody institutions. By custody, it describes secure training centres and young offender institutions, which alongside local authority secure children’s homes form the “secure estate” establishments as defined by the Youth Justice Board (YJB). Child deaths in custody are the most extreme outcome of a system that fails some of society’s most troubled children. In England and Wales, there is an adult-centric approach towards child custody focused on punishment, rather than a child-centric approach focused on containment, welfare, and protection. Children and young people are detained in unsafe environments and are subjected to bullying and degrading treatment such as strip-searching, segregation, and restraint. The YJB contracts with three types of institution—young offender institutions, secure training centres, and secure children’s homes—and is responsible for the allocation of children who receive a custodial sentence and for determining the most suitable secure placement.
