Recommendation 17: Prohibit pain compliance techniques
From Sexual Abuse of Children in Custodial Institutions: 2009-2017 Investigation Report, published 28 February 2019.
Recommendation
The Chair and Panel consider that the use of pain compliance techniques should be seen as a form of child abuse, and that it is likely to contribute to a culture of violence, which may increase the risk of child sexual abuse. The Chair and Panel recommend that the Ministry of Justice prohibits the use of pain compliance techniques by withdrawing all policy permitting its use, and setting out that this practice is prohibited by way of regulation.
In brief (written by this site)
The recommendation asks the Ministry of Justice to prohibit pain compliance techniques. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, summarising a response of July 2019 on a web page archived in October 2022, recorded that the department confirmed in April 2021 that the Youth Custody Service had established the Independent Restraint and Behaviour Panel (The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Oct 2022). It noted that in June 2020 the department published the Charlie Taylor Review alongside a response stating it would remove pain-inducing techniques from the Minimising and Managing Physical Restraint (MMPR) syllabus (The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Oct 2022). However, the review recommended that staff may still use pain-inducing techniques to prevent serious physical harm, and the sources do not mention prohibition by regulation (The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Oct 2022).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 5 Oct 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
No government response to this recommendation is on the record yet.
Delivery
No statement on delivery from Ministry of Justice has been found in the sources searched (last checked 2 October 2026). This is separate from the response above.
What other bodies have found
In their own words. These do not change the delivery statement above.
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (20 October 2022)
On 23 July 2019, the Ministry of Justice stated that it had commissioned a review of the use of pain-inducing techniques in Youth Offender Institutions, Secure Training Centres, and during escorts. Following this review, the Ministry of Justice will publish its response to the Inquiry’s recommendation. On 18 June 2020, the Ministry of Justice published the Charlie Taylor Review of pain-inducing techniques in the youth secure estate. The Review makes 15 recommendations to ensure a safer youth custodial estate, including that the Minimising and Managing Physical Restraint (MMPR) syllabus be amended to remove the use of pain inducing techniques. However the Review notes that “even in the most humane, well-run setting there will be occasions when direct, immediate physical force is required” (p.21) and as a result recommends that staff in Youth Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres may use pain-inducing techniques to prevent serious physical harm to a child or adult. Alongside the Taylor Review, the Ministry of Justice published the Government’s response to the Review and its recommendations. In particular, the Ministry of Justice stated that it will revise the approved training modules so that sections on pain-inducing techniques are removed and the MMPR syllabus consists only of behaviour management and restraint techniques. In April 2021, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that the Youth Custody Service had established the Independent Restraint and Behaviour Panel .
From: Recommendations - Children in Custodial Institutions: 2009-2017 investigation report
Site note: These are the Inquiry's own words, from its recommendations page for the Sexual Abuse of Children in Custodial Institutions investigation report, captured by the Internet Archive on 20 October 2022. They are the Inquiry's account of what the body told it, not the body's own words.
Source
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
Finding