DEFENCE FOR CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL (DCI) - Belgium | Practical Guide CRC 37 (a) (d) | RPJDL 66, 67-70 | SMR 43 §1 a) b) | ECHR 2, 3 | EPR 60.5 | ERJO 94.1 | CPT/Inf (1998)12, 49-50 | CPT/Inf (2015), V., 128, 129 C. USE OF FORCE AND METHODS OF RESTRAINT Is the use of instruments of restraint and force limited to strictly restrictive conditions and only in order to prevent children from inflicting self injury, injuries to others or serious destruction of property? ASK: Children | Staff | Director OBSERVE: ʺʺ Instruments of constraint worn by or available to the staff (handcuffs, restraint jackets, weapons, etc.) ʺʺ Children’s behaviour and appearance (any sign of stress, traumas, injuries, hematoma) CHECK: ʺʺ Internal rules and regulations, see whether the use is restricted to exceptional cases where all other control methods have been exhausted and failed, and only as explicitly authorised and specified by law and regulation, see what constitutes an exceptional case ʺʺ Procedure concerning the use of force, see whether stipulations include the various type of use of force that may be used; the circumstances, the members of the staff who are entitled to use of force, the level of responsibility required to authorised the use of force, the report that must be done after and the process of reviewing the reports ʺʺ Duration, see whether it is effectively used for the shortest possible period of time ʺʺ Specific training of staff See – Section 5.2. – p.101 ʺʺ Register of incidents, see how often the use of instruments of restraint and force used occur, see whether the justification is in accordance to the prevention of children from inflicting self injury, injuries to others or serious destruction of property; see if it includes the times at which the measure has begun and ended, the circumstances of the case, the reasons for resorting to the measure, the name of the competent authority who ordered or approved it, and an account of any injuries sustained by children and/or staff ʺʺ Medical records, see whether the child has been systematically examined by a healthcare professional each time physical restraint or force is used against him 108