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A CHILD WAS handcuffed while being restrained at a detention centre for children, an inspection found.
The inspection of Oberstown detention campus by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) took place in autumn last year, and said reference was made to the young person’s physical strength, in a plan that mentioned the handcuffing incident.
The head of care told inspectors that there was no formal review of the incident but that they reviewed the CCTV, that 5-7 staff were involved and that the restraint was “all over the place”.
The head of care said that handcuffs should not be used within the campus. A staff member was injured during this incident, and the outcome for the child was poor.
HIQA said it was not clear whether the service took any lesson from the incident to prevent it happening again and improve the safety and quality of the service. At the time, 30% of staff had not received up to date training in behaviour management.
Oberstown detention campus provides a detention service to the courts for young offenders between the age of 10 and 17.
Not always safe
The inspection found that children were “not always safe” there, because best practice was not always implemented.
Children were, on occasion, separated from their peers in locked rooms for long periods of time and it was “not always apparent that other interventions had been tried”.
In the 12 months prior to the inspection, there were 758 occasions when children were on their own in their bedrooms, protection rooms or other rooms and HIQA said this “did not demonstrate that single separation was used as a last resort”.
Protection rooms were used in Trinity house, where a child was locked in small room without natural light, while in other units children spent time in single separation in locked time out rooms, in their bedrooms or in activity rooms
There were a variety of reasons for the use of single separation including threats of suicide, being under the influence of drugs or concerns relating to threatening behaviour.
One child was locked in a room for 83 hours and 45 minutes over four days.Another spent 23 hours and 30 minutes over a two day period in dingle separation, excluding sleeping time, because staff were concerned the young person had prohibited items and would not give them to staff. Shorter periods of single separation were also recorded, such as periods of 30 minutes when a child was smoking in school.
A memorandum was issued to all staff after the inspection which specifically referenced misuse of single separation. HIQA said it was also assured that the separation policy would be reviewed.
In total, the report found the centre complied with just one in ten standards.
Jennifer Gargan, the Director of Empowering People In Care (EPIC), an independent association that works with and for children and young people living in care, said the use of single separation of young people is “deeply concerning”.
Young people while in detention should be afforded the opportunity to address their offending behaviour however it is apparent that this is currently not the case.
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How does HIQA recommend that you deal with a violent, unpredictable, man-sized teenager?
Agreed, even though Michelle managed to crowbar the words child and young into that article a record number of times.
Break the law, pay the price.
If a member of staff was injured then restraints were a necessity in my opinion. Another few years and majority of them will end up in real prision.
Have you tackled a 17 yo year old male?
“The Child” could be a giant with a attitude problem.
Now you deal with him…
Child in restraints makes a great headline
With kindness, tact and gentleness?
It keeps referring to child and children. I certainly don’t consider a 15+yr old a child. Especially in physical terms. These days they’re big as houses. Of course they have to be restrained for everyones safety including their own.
This is not a child this is a criminal.
Taser these no good thugs when they step out of line.
Next time a ‘child’ goes ballistic in Oberstown the staff should call the HIQA inspectors and let them deal with it….
X2
Oh boo hoo. Are we supposed to be upset that a kid sent to one of these centres (for, presumably, breaking the law, behaving antisocially, being violent, or any number of potential offences) was restrained?
Next you’ll be telling me they’re locked up in these detention centres and not allowed to leave.
Going on comments thus far it must mean the beedin heart brigeade are on a day off. And here was me gunning for a debate.
It takes a hell of a lot of law breaking to occur for one of these little ingrates to wind up there in the first place. Sometimes behavioural Management simply doesn’t work
I was talking to a 16 year old over weekend ago was only out of Oberstown recently. I know him well and he was only there after a couple of years on a crime spree. Judges have him chance after chance and he laughed about it.
And it wasn’t pretty offences. Robbery and serious assaults were involved.
He told me Oberstown was good craic. If staff annoy you then you threaten them or complain about them to make their jobs harder.
Point being this lad was violent and 6’4 and weighs 15 stone. Maybe HIQA should deal with him for a week instead of analysing everything those poor staff do to protect themselves and others.
Most Inspectors only join hiqa because they couldnt hack it in Child Protection Services and were crap at their jobs. hiqa doesnt make them competent.
These are not kids in the normal sense. They are violent,uneducated thugs,who don’t understand the word NO and have no moral or social skills what so ever.
And regardless of the reason’s for all of the above and who may be responsible for them turning out like this ,the staff in oberstown are dealing with kid prisoners and should be treated as such. Well done the staff
I see a staff member was injured in the incident. Perhaps a more appropriate title might be “violent teen thug injures staff member at detention center”. Oh wait, that doesn’t shed as many years from the bleeding hearts.
Not many bleeding hearts on the journal I tell ya
The article doesn’t say what age the “child” was , if child could harm or kill another child or member of staff then they must restrain. I’m sure the restraining was all over the place as it’d not easy to restrain someone who is violent without injury to yourself or the person you are attempting to restrain.
The staff are in an impossible position and will always be open to criticism no matter what they do.
Probably 17 years 364 days. But the journal can still say child as often as possible
I was initially annoyed about this restraint but as posted,these precautions are taken to protect staff and patient .
If he self harmed or stabbed an officer/staff member then people would be baying that he should have been restrained.
Some of these youths are seriously violent and capable of extreme violence.
The Taser gun was probably broken..
Mores the pity…..
Has to be ‘one’ hardest job in the world dealing with these young delinquents .
*of
*the
:)
You’re off the meds again oggie
It’s all right and good for the desk jockey in hiqa to say the poor child shouldn’t of been restrained etc other methods bla bla bla.
Would they think the same if they were dealing with a repeat offender who may be 16 but about 6ft and has been scrapping his whole life!
Load of crap!!!
Prison officer job for juveniles I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole
Remember all the criticism that was thrown at the Prison Officers in St Patricks when dealing with “Children” aged 17 to 21.
Now the chickens have come home to roost. Emily Logan and Judge Reilly have a lot to answer for.
The staff in Oberstown and Trinity House work for the Dept of Education. They have a completely different set of rules and guidelines when dealing with violent prisoners that those Prison Officers are trained to use. And as a result I understand that staff on sick leave in Oberstown is through the roof.
Ask any adult prisoner that had gone through St Patricks and they will tell you they hated the place. Strict discipline and zero tolerance were the order of the day. Unfortunately with Oberstown staff are required to use the softly softly approach and kid gloves with teenagers that have been through the courts multiple times and are deemed such a danger to the public that they require detention.
Well said mick . The motto now is “hug a thug “
Make them watch RTE as punishment
After Nationwide they’ll be on their knees
more like send them to the labour conference to listen to iphone joan
Sadist !
a thug probably has a name on his behavior, used to called brat but that’s not pc anymore.
All I see is the words child & young person … Did Ryan tubridy write this ?
If only the kid had a gun to defend himself with. Definitely a case for legalising guns here
Send them to Putin as target practice
I wonder why 30% of the staff don’t have up to date training, could it be cut backs?
David. Apart from the training that these staff receive (which is of little of little value when dealing with large violently aggressive teenagers) they are bound by a set of rules and regulations that are designed by people that have very little or no dealings with the type of criminal the Staff on the floor are confronted with.
When was the last time a Government Minister or senior Civil Servant had to wrestle with a 6’2″ 15 stone highly aggressive and violent “Child”?
hope the gave him a few cracks.
One child was locked into a room for 83 hours 45 minutes, over a four day period. I don’t care what anyone says, that isn’t right!
Maria. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that these teenagers are bright eyed fair haired little angels.
They are vicious aggressive and dangerous scrotes. They have been sent to Oberstown as a last resort after going through the hands of multiple agencies and multiple court appearances and it has been decided that they pose such a danger to the public that they need to be incarcerated in a secure unit.
What you need to ask is why was this youngster kept in lock down? Was he off his head on illegal narcotics? Was he a danger to staff or other Kids? And if he was any of the above and caused injury to someone would you not be asking why was he not isolated?
Full of drugs I’d imagine …. Probabally refusing to give them up . Danger of 10 or 20 been like him if let out .. Uncontrollable violent manic frenzied danger to himself and others .
,only one thing left or allowed to do .. After all else fails had to be done
This is surely a messed up situation. .finding it odd that majority of comments talk about ‘thugs’ etc.. no sympathy for these under 18′s for whatever may have lead them to a life in care.. It isn’t always the fault of the ‘child’ . Not to say it isn’t sometimes. . But I’ve seen firsthand where two young kids were failed numerous times by people who were educated in caring for children in care.. despite the very best efforts of foster families, these kids are walking the thin line between lawful and lawless.. They haven’t decided to be thugs per se but years of both physical & physiological torture have shaped them that way.
# Mrs B …. there is nothing in the article to say those kids are in care, they have been taken off the streets because they present a danger to the public, there are in the criminal system or remanded.
Hugs for everyone so. Maybe you can take them in, do a Pippa on it. She had a right good track record with them. Except for Dodge. I hated Dodge.
Who’s fault is it so? I’d be pretty sure that if you or your loved ones were assaulted or robbed by one of them you’d be singing a different tune. They’re not there for taking Hunky Dorys from Mary’s Corner Shop.
Mrs b. You would make an excellent social worker. They tend to have over the top dogoodery. The child is the victim blah blah blah. What that child never had and so desperately needs is a size 12 boot up the *******
That child was never from day one shown discipline. Once you get to the age of 5 you have learned most your ever going to learn as you are a sponge till then. Your brain forms the basis of your personality.
It’s safe to say a 17 year old getting a kick won’t change his criminal future ut it will scare him to do something stupid again. If he does…. Consequences. That being locked in room for days on end.
These are not nice people. There is not one who will “turn their life around” they are there because they committed multiple serious crimes and I mean multiple from rape to stealing cars to burglaries.
The only chance they have is some serious full metal jacket boot camp training.
Spare the rod old chaps
Where’s the problem?
This is the place that Emily Logan wanted the kids from st pats to go to because the staff were abusing them??? Might be the so called kids are just out of control, dangerous and violent???
Reading the comments here it’s obvious many posters support the abuse of children. I hear the Christan Brothers are doing a recruitment drive and I’m sure they’d welcome many of the posters here. These posters idea of professional child care includes tasers, handcuffs, restraints and not a little violence.
Perhaps these posters are on the wrong story – seems to me they arrived here ‘accidentally’ via a report on Fifty Shades of Grey !!!!
How would you deal with a violent 6ft, 14 stone child that is losing the rag and violently attacking a colleague of yours????
Bear in mind that that you also have 9 more children in the room with you and maybe 1 colleague aswell????
What has your question got to do with the article? Did you pick that question out of thin air or what? Do read the article and, for heaven’s sake, keep up!
Can we not farm out our prisoners to the Bangcock Hilton it would work out cheaper
But Fine Gael love our children like a caring mother and father???? This can’t be true
have your say