Medway Secure Training Centre in Kent was the first child prison to open in the UK in 1998. Over the years many allegations of abuse, excessive use of force and heavy restraint on children have been made against staff. Medway was run by G4S until July 2016. Image taken 8 January 2016 by Gareth Fuller/PA Archive/PA Images
A coalition of charities with decades of collective experience working with bereaved families and locked up children has launched a campaign to close child prisons in the UK.
The campaign to ‘End Child Imprisonment’ is spearheaded by six charities: Article 39, the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, the Howard League for Penal Reform, INQUEST, Just For Kids Law, and the National Association for Youth Justice.
