Jail guards want power to use batons on children

They say they need more protection following a rise in assaults and to help bring violent clashes between teenage inmates quickly under control.

Yesterday the Government said the request could be granted as part of a review of restraint techniques allowed inside young offenders' institutions.

Existing rules mean the batons, which are made from a hard plastic, can be used only on inmates aged 18.

The Prison Officers' Association, however, says too many of its members are suffering serious injuries at work.

Assistant general secretary Glyn Travis said these included broken noses and cheekbones, fractured eye sockets, ears being bitten off and faces being stabbed with pens.

"There is a serious violence problem within the criminal justice system and we believe it's out of control," he said.

Colin Moses, national chairman of the POA, added: "What we want is the deterrent to defend ourselves and defend those in our charge. And currently we have no deterrent to intervene."

The POA said some of his members had suffered long-term psychological problems after being assaulted by children. In one case, staff had to intervene when a group of teenagers was trying to kick an inmate to death.

Figures compiled by the Howard League for Penal Reform show there were more than 18,000 assaults in young offenders' institutions between 2003 and 2006 - 2,500 of which were attacks on staff.

Frances Crook, director of the league, said a recent parliamentary answer had revealed that nine out of the 10 most violent places of detention in the UK were young offenders institutions.

But she opposed the move to give guards batons. She said batons were 'always the wrong answer' and would make the institutions even more violent for staff and inmates.

The batons are carried on officers' belts and, when extended, measure 18 inches. An inmate will normally be struck on the legs or upper arm, but if they are carrying a knife or other weapon, they may be hit on the hand.

Mrs Crook said: "There are huge numbers of young men in prison with very serious mental health problems and threatening them with batons is completely inappropriate. These are very disturbed young people who harm themselves a lot."

The Ministry of Justice said it was going to review the ban on baton use to control younger children, although it said there was no timetable for a final decision.

An existing restraint technique, which involves punching children in the face, is also under review after a suspected young offender died in custody.

Adam Rickwood became the youngest person in Britain to die in detention after he killed himself at Hassockfield Secure Training Centre in County Durham.

The teenager hanged himself with his shoelaces while on remand shortly after being struck in the face using the 'nose distraction technique' - a sharp and painful strike to the base of the nose.

An investigation into the death, published earlier this year, said the blow left his face 'covered in blood', with the youngster fearing his nose was broken.

The report, by the Lancashire Safeguarding Children Board, said the tactic should be reviewed 'as a matter of urgency'.

Inmates now outnumber prison places

The prison overcrowding crisis deepened yesterday as it emerged there are now more inmates than places.

Only overflow police cells are preventing Labour from having to allow yet more prisoners to walk free early.

The jail population on Friday stood at a record 81,533, against the 81,517 prison places and 400 spaces in police cells.

With numbers continuing to rise, Justice Secretary Jack Straw could be forced to make an announcement on releasing inmates as early as this week.

Sources say the most likely plan of action is to extend the early release scheme which allows convicts to walk free 18 days before their sentence reaches the halfway point.

This could be altered to 23 or even 28 days to buy Labour time to build some of the promised 9,500 extra places.

Inmates could also be placed in court cells.

The Tories called on Mr Straw to rule out any extension of early release, which it said 'fails prisoners, insults victims and puts the public at risk'.