Monday, July 19, 2010

How Could Anyone Possibly Think This is OK?

Next up in Why I Hate CCA's international series is a story from the UK that details the recent uncovering of a physical restraint manual that chronicles the techniques guards at a private prison are supposed to employ to restrain juvenile offenders.  Following a mulit-year campaign to make the documents public after the deaths of a 14-year-old and 15-year-old in private detention centers, the manual was just released.  Some of the techniques detailed in the manual involve the risk of skull fractures, blindness due to ruptured retinas, and medical emergencies brought on by near-asphyxiation.  Guards are instructed to utilize force such as "an inverted knuckle into the (child's) sternum and drive inward and upward," "alternate elbow strikes to the young person's ribs until a release is achieved," and "drive straight fingers into the young person's face, and then quickly drive the straightened fingers of the same hand downwards into the young person's groin area."

Which are all completely appropriate ways to restrain children.

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