More arrests over abuse claims
Police investigating allegations of abuse at a Kent youth jail have arrested five more people, including a man and a woman from Maidstone.
They are being held on suspicion of misconduct in public office at the Medway Secure Training Centre. The investigation was launched after the BBC’s Panorama programme sent an undercover reporter into the Rochester site between October and December last year.
The documentary, which was broadcast in January, showed staff appearing to use excessive force, children being bullied by staff, officers lying when reporting incidents and personnel boasting about hurting inmates.
Those in custody are a 24-yearold woman and a 35-year-old man, both from Maidstone, a 41-year-old woman from Rochester, a 33-year-old man from Rainham and a 25-year-old man from Sittingbourne.
Five men were arrested in January and remain on bail while the investigation continues.
Since the allegations came to light, staff have been re-trained and the Ministry of Justice is set to take over the running of the site from private security firm G4S, which was awarded the contract in September last year.
Responding to the new developments, regional president for G4S Peter Neden said: “The behaviour exposed by some members of our staff at the Medway Secure Training Centre in January was completely unacceptable, and as a consequence we immediately dismissed the individuals directly involved.
“Since the allegations came to light, a great deal of time has been focused on understanding how such behaviours came to be condoned in one of our businesses, and Kent Police can expect our continued cooperation.”