Suicide Verdict Over Boy’s Custody Death

A jury has returned a verdict of suicide on a 14-year-old boy who hanged himself in a privately run secure unit. Adam Rickwood became the youngest child to have died in penal custody for 25 years when he hanged himself with his shoelaces at the Hassockfield secure training centre in County Durham in August 2004.

Following a month-long inquest at Chester-le-Street magistrates’ court, a jury of nine women and one man ruled that he had intended to take his own life.

Adam’s mother, Carol Pounder, sobbed into her hands as the foreman of the jury returned the majority 9-1 verdict. Adam had been sent to the Hassockfield centre – 150 miles from his home in Burnley, Lancashire – on remand in July 2004 and died just over a month later.

The jury heard that the troubled teenager had written to his mother saying he would kill himself if he was not taken out of the centre. He had suffered from mental health problems and suicidal tendencies, the inquest was told.

Several hours before his death, Adam had been restrained by a custody officer using a “distraction” technique which involved the use of force on his nose. The teenager thought his nose had been broken and was in a state of distress.

The jury had to answer a set of 11 questions during their deliberations, relating to the “appropriateness” of placing Adam at Hassockfield. They found that it was an appropriate secure training centre for the youngster and that staff at the centre had acted appropriately during his short time there and also during the incident hours before his death.

The Durham coroner, Andrew Tweddle, said he would be contacting interested parties to make a number of recommendations, in particular relating to what restraint techniques could be used and when they should be used.

Mr Tweddle said: “There needs to be the most urgent and thorough investigation and review of the inter-relationship between the 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, secure training centre rules and the directors’ rules to avoid any confusion of what applies where and when.

“That’s of the utmost importance so there can be no ambiguity in anyone’s minds; be it the young person, staff, management, the Youth Justice Board or indeed the government as to when the use of force can be used to maintain discipline, good order and compliance is authorised.”

Adam’s suicide came four months after the death of 15-year-old Gareth Myatt at the Rainsbrook secure training centre in Northamptonshire and prompted calls for an investigation into the treatment of teenagers in young offenders’ institutes.

A spokesman for Serco, which runs the centre, said after the inquest: “This has been a very thorough investigation into the circumstances of Adam’s tragic death. It has demonstrated that our staff do a difficult job and provided a very high standard of care when Adam was at Hassockfield.

“The coroner has made detailed recommendations, some of which we have already implemented, and we will of course look closely at the rest.”