Red Bank secure unit

Red Bank secure unit, part of Red Bank Community Home, was one of several English Local Authority Secure Children’s Homes (a juvenile detention facility) located in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside. It opened in 1965, when it was one of three such units, and accepted both boys and girls.[1] The unit closed in May 2015.[2]

In 1990, when it housed 26 boys and young men convicted of serious crimes including murder, rape and arson, John Evans, the local member of parliament, described its work as "excellent and valuable" and said, "The special unit is not a harsh place, but it has rules that must be adhered to. The young people learn self-control and discipline in an affectionate environment that is sensitive to their special needs."[3] It later specialised in accommodating child sex offenders.[4] In 2009, it was one of nine secure children's homes in England.[5]

Mary Bell was initially sent to the unit and it later housed Jon Venables, one of James Bulger's killers.[4][6] Allegations that a female employee of the unit had engaged in sexual activity with Venables while he was imprisoned there were widely reported in 2011.[7]

References
  1. "'Children Referred to Closed Units' by Pat Cawson and Mary Martell", The Therapeutic Care Journal, 1 December 2009, retrieved 17 November 2016
  2. Red Bank School, Department for Education, retrieved 17 November 2016
  3. House of Commons Debate 4, Hansard, 12 November 1990, retrieved 17 November 2016
  4. Paul Vallely (21 January 2010), "The end of innocence: Inside Britain's child prisons", The Independent
  5. Mithran Samuel (27 March 2009), Four secure children's homes lose Youth Justice Board contracts, Community Care, retrieved 17 November 2016
  6. "17 December: 1968: Mary Bell found guilty of double killing", BBC On This Day, BBC News, 17 December 1968, retrieved 12 May 2010
  7. David James Smith (27 March 2011), "Bulger killer had sex in prison", The Sunday Times, retrieved 17 November 2016
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