Red Bank Secure Unit (more commonly referred to as Red Bank), part of Red Bank Community Home, was one of several English

Local Authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

juvenile detention facility Juvenile may refer to: In general *Juvenile status, or minor (law), prior to adulthood *Juvenile (organism) Music *Juvenile (rapper) (born 1975), stage name of American rapper Terius Gray *''Juveniles'', a 2020 studio album by the band Kingswoo ...

) located in

Newton-le-Willows Newton-le-Willows, often shortened informally to Newton, is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 census was 24,642. Newton-le-Willows is on the ea ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

. It opened in 1965, when it was one of three such units, and accepted both boys and girls. The unit closed in May 2015. In 1990, when it housed 26 boys and young men convicted of serious crimes including murder, rape and arson, John Evans, the local member of parliament, described its work as "excellent and valuable" and said, "the special unit is not a harsh place, but it has rules that must be adhered to. The young people learn self-control and discipline in an affectionate environment that is sensitive to their special needs." It later specialised in accommodating child

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a Sex and the law, sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convi ...

s. In 2009, it was one of nine secure children's homes in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Since the 2015 closure, it has been alleged that at least one of the former care units were being used as a police training establishment. It is now a school for SEMH children called Willow Bank

Notable inmates

Mary Bell Mary Flora Bell (born 26 May 1957) is an English woman who, as a juvenile, killed two preschool-age boys in Benwell and Scotswood, Scotswood, an inner suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, in 1968. Bell committed her first killing when she was ten ye ...

, from 1968 to 1973. Bell was transferred to Red Bank secure unit where she was the only female among approximately 24 inmates. Bell would later claim that she was sexually abused by a member of staff and several inmates while incarcerated at this facility, claiming the sexual abuse began when she was 13. *

Jon Venables Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given". The name is spelled Jón in Iceland and on the Faroe Islands. In the Nordic countries, it is derived from Johannes. Notable people * Jon Aaraas (born 1986 ...

, from 1993 to 2001, in Vardy House, a small eight-bedded unit. Venables was one of James Bulger's killers. Despite initial problems, Venables was said to have eventually made good progress at Red Bank, resulting in him being kept there for the full eight years, despite the facility only being a short-stay remand unit. Allegations that a female employee of the unit had engaged in sexual activity with Venables while he was imprisoned there were widely reported in 2011.

References

{{reflist, 30em Penal system in England Youth detention centers Defunct prisons in England 1965 establishments in England 2015 disestablishments in England