Youth facility doubts as child restraint by Serco exposed

SERCO, the company set to operate a correctional facility for young adults in Western Australia, has been found by Britain’s High Court to have unlawfully restrained English children for at least a decade.

The company, which also runs Australia’s immigration detention centres, was found to have used unlawful restraints such as ‘‘distraction’’ techniques in which children had their thumbs pulled back or were hit on the nose or ribs. The children were inmates of secure training centres run by Serco and another company, G4S.

Serco has been named as the preferred tenderer for a young adults facility to rehabilitate 18-to 24-year-old men.

Community and Public Sector Union state secretary Toni Walkington said yesterday the judgment showed the facility should not be privatised.

DEBBIE GUEST