It is recalled that the Report for 201258 gave the figures for the number of cases of police custody of minors each year at just under one hundred thousand: this is far from being a question of minor proportions, even if the number of children involved may be smaller (some of them may be placed in police custody several times in the course of a year). 2.3 Young Offenders’ Institutions We will not here return to the recommendations made in 2013 with regard to the young offenders’ institutions of Hendaye (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) and Pionsat (Puy-de-Dôme), which were described at the beginning of this section. On the other hand, several common traits concerning the majority of the institutions inspected need to be taken up again. 2.3.1 Concerning a number of Conditions of Operation The inspections for which the reports were sent in 2013 once again reflected a reality that is often difficult and always contains sharp contrasts. Rather than returning to the negative factors weighing upon many of these institutions, as has been done at length in previous annual reports, and which it would be easy to confirm after a year of additional inspections, it would probably be judicious to note a certain number of good practices that have been highlighted by the inspectors and to request both the confirmation thereof by the national authorities and their bringing into general use, naturally in forms adapted to each institution. 2.3.1.1 – Staff a/ There cannot be any educational project without tutors, that is to say staff trained for the purpose. Admittedly, the conditions prevailing in young offenders’ institutions indeed lead to a dearth of candidatures, providing a perfect illustration of a vicious circle. Because it has not been possible to engage a sufficient number of qualified persons, there are considerable discrepancies between persons in terms of qualifications. Generally speaking, the latter are inadequate and staff often lack previous training designed to help them fulfil their duties. This tends to be more frequently the case in institutions managed by associations. By default, provision should be made for a minimum level of qualified tutors, below which centres cannot be opened. Moreover, when positions for qualified tutors are not filled, the acquisition of knowledge by persons lacking qualifications needs to be included among the tasks to be set and, as the Contrôle Général has already pointed out, access to in-service training made imperative. Such acquisition of skills should give priority to the mentality of adolescents and how to engage in appropriate dialogue with them. It should provide teaching on how to speak with them, encourage them to express themselves and deny them when necessary. It needs to assert the necessity for equanimity and composure. It needs to explain the interpretation to be given to behaviours and how to respond to the latter. It needs to proscribe any violence and teach techniques of restraint that can be used in case of necessity. It needs to simultaneously address provision of social and legal support from children, in particular but not exclusively in CEFs, and the necessary organisation of deliberate and consolidated team work. It needs to explain the partners that are indispensable, and families in the first place. 58 Report of the CGLPL for 2012, published by Dalloz, p. 266-267. 52