Pindown
Encyclopedia
Pindown was a method of punishment
used in children's home
s in Staffordshire
, England
in the 1980s. It involved locking children in rooms called "pindown rooms", sometimes for periods of weeks or months, similar to a lockdown
in prison
s. The children were kept in solitary confinement
with little furniture, no conversation and repetitive occupations.
A total of at least 132 children, aged nine and upwards, experienced what came to be called ‘pindown' between 1983 and 1989. It varied in length but did last, in one instance, up to 84 continuous days. It was punishment for such activities as running away from care or school, petty theft, bullying and threats of violence. An inquiry into the practice, "The Pindown Inquiry", held in 1990/1991 was chaired by Allan Levy QC. It took 75 days of evidence from 153 witnesses, and examined approximately 150,000 pages of documents including 400 log books of events in children’s homes. A 300 page report was produced after almost a year.
The report's findings were that the practice was decisively outside anything that could properly be considered as good childcare practice. In the view of the inquiry it was an unethical
, unprofessional and unacceptable practice, and unlawful.
Punishment
Punishment is the authoritative imposition of something negative or unpleasant on a person or animal in response to behavior deemed wrong by an individual or group....
used in children's home
Children's Home
Children's Home is a historic building at 427 Robeson Street in Fall River, Massachusetts.The Home was built in 1894 and added to the National Historic Register in 1983....
s in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the 1980s. It involved locking children in rooms called "pindown rooms", sometimes for periods of weeks or months, similar to a lockdown
Lockdown
There are several definitions for the term lockdown, the most common of which pertains to a state of containment or a restriction of progression....
in prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
s. The children were kept in solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
with little furniture, no conversation and repetitive occupations.
A total of at least 132 children, aged nine and upwards, experienced what came to be called ‘pindown' between 1983 and 1989. It varied in length but did last, in one instance, up to 84 continuous days. It was punishment for such activities as running away from care or school, petty theft, bullying and threats of violence. An inquiry into the practice, "The Pindown Inquiry", held in 1990/1991 was chaired by Allan Levy QC. It took 75 days of evidence from 153 witnesses, and examined approximately 150,000 pages of documents including 400 log books of events in children’s homes. A 300 page report was produced after almost a year.
The report's findings were that the practice was decisively outside anything that could properly be considered as good childcare practice. In the view of the inquiry it was an unethical
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
, unprofessional and unacceptable practice, and unlawful.