A/HRC/16/52/Add.3 Correctional Department since May 2007. Despite attempts to move some of the girls to other offices, 23 girls were held at the Office dormitory on 22 May. 57. In addition to the overcrowding, the girls had been in lockdown since 7 May. Lockdown was used as a form of collective punishment, in contravention of international human rights standards. The recurrent use of lockdown deprived the girls of all outdoor activities for extended periods. All meals were served in the dormitory, and no knives, forks or spoons were provided. The use of the bathroom was restricted to one hour in the mornings. Additionally, most classes were cancelled during lockdown. According to the report, new arrivals were placed in lockdown for two weeks at Armadale. 58. On the day of the fire, six girls attempted to break out by removing the grills covering the windows. The girls threw faeces, urine, water and other articles at the officers, who hit the girls with sticks to keep them inside. The supervising correctional officer then summoned assistance, and two police officers arrived at Armadale. One of the officers threw a teargas canister into the dormitory, which fell onto a bed and started the fire upon contact with a foam mattress. A second fire started when the smoke from the teargas combined with an accelerant found in the dormitory. The door of the dormitory was never opened, so the girls had to jump out through the front and rear windows. One of the correctional officers continued hitting the girls to ensure they stayed inside, despite the fact that the dormitory was on fire. Seven girls died as a result of the fire, and many others were injured. 59. The report concludes that the use of teargas was an unlawful use of force by the police officer, and that the dormitory door should have been promptly unlocked. In addition, most of the fire extinguishers were not recharged, despite continuous requests addressed to the Department of Correctional Services. The report recommends that lockdown be discontinued and that the Commissioner of Corrections and the Children’s Court be made aware when a facility reaches its maximum capacity so that no additional child is sent there. It also recommends that a board of visiting judges be appointed to conduct regular visits and review the facilities at juvenile correctional centres. Lastly, it recommends that the statements and evidence obtained by the enquiry and the final report be submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions for consideration on whether any criminal acts were committed. 60. On 2 March 2010, the Prime Minister addressed parliament on the report of the Armadale enquiry. He stated that, although resource constraints imposed a heavy burden on officers working in juvenile detention facilities, they “cannot explain or excuse negligence or inertia”.11 He also noted that the Correctional Services should not be responsible for juvenile correctional and remand facilities, because they are trained to deal with adult criminal offenders and not with children in conflict with the law. In this regard, he outlined several measures under way to address some of the problems concerning children in correctional facilities, including placing juvenile correctional and remand facilities under the Child Development Agency. Additional measures include renovating certain buildings and transferring certain children to ensure that children in remand are held in separate facilities from those under correctional orders. 61. Taking into account the conclusions of the report, as well as the interviews held with the girls and one official who was at Armadale on the day of the fire, the Special Rapporteur considers that the deaths and the physical and psychological suffering of the girls could have been prevented. The frequent use of lockdown, made particularly worse by the overcrowding and unhygienic conditions, was not conducive to the rehabilitation of the girls, as it created a climate of tension and frustration. Most of the girls were also not 11 14 Statement to Parliament by the Hon. Bruce Golding, Prime Minister on the Report of the Armadale Enquiry, March 2010, available at the website of the Jamaican Information Service (www.jis.gov.jm).