Annual Report 2014 of the National Preventive Mechanism I.3.4 Centres for minors with conduct disorders and in a situation of social difficulty 30. Minors in a situation of social difficulty are considered to be those who, due to their serious maladjustment to the family and educational environment in which they develop, may cause themselves or other persons damage. It has been decided to use the term “social difficulty”, in order to include it clearly in the scope of protection systems and distance it from measures for reform for the perpetration of offences in the context of juvenile justice. 31. The difficult situation of these adolescents, who often also suffer mental disorders, and the fact that some of them have perpetrated illegal acts, has led the autonomous legislators and the authorities to establish a protection system for these minors in which measures for reform are occasionally related to or confused with measures for reform. The result is that certain adolescents are being treated at inadequate residential shelter centres, a circumstance to be avoided both by the public powers and by the entities managing these establishments. 32. Indeed, the public authorities should put in place the necessary protection measures to prevent and neutralise situations of maladjustment, discrimination or social exclusion that could lead to more serious acts. However this field of crime prevention is absolutely unrelated to the treatment that conduct disorders should be given, since it is excessive to consider that all minors who perform an illegal act suffer mental disorders or vice versa. 33. The Galapagar Residence (Madrid), with a maximum 18 places, was visited. On the day of the visit, 16 places were occupied, although only 15 minors were staying there (of whom 8 were boys and 7 were girls), since one them had escaped. The minors were aged between 13 and 17 years old. The protection measure for 9 of the minors was their placing in custody of Madrid Autonomous Community, except two: one of them in custody of Aragon Autonomous Community and the other in custody of Castile-La Mancha Autonomous Community. The rest of the minors (7), were placed under legal guardianship, depending on their families. 34. Annex VIII to this report sets out the conclusions and good practices sent to the authority, in respect of these facilities. Notwithstanding the above, paragraphs 286 to 310 of this report show the criteria that the NPM considers should be met at centres for the protection of minors with conduct disorders and in a situation of social difficulty. 32