Secure Units for Children Serve two main purposes. They can be to protect young people who are placing themselves or others at risk of harm through a range of behaviours. In these instances the unit is not used as punishment but to ensure the young people's safety. These secure units support the young person to address the issues which resulted in their stay and attempt to aid the young person in achieving positive outcomes in their future lives.
Other secure units are where children who break the law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 are sent to punish them and also to protect other people if their offense put other people at risk

At Risk

At Risk is a 1994 film about a woman name Lara, after spending a year in Mexico unsuccessfully trying to save her marriage to Steven, returns to the U.S. to find Max, her lover in this AIDS cautionary tale.-Starring:*Elana K. Pyle as Lara Wade...

. In secure units they try to stop re-offending. The units also educate children and there are activities for children to do but there are many limits and children usually can't do simple things like change the channel on the TV. The system is much like the prison system.

Children sleep in rooms which are usually secure, and are locked at night. Children are away from home but keep touch through visits. There are psychiatric secure units for children who are not stable enough to be in normal secure settings.