This work focuses on the vulnerabilities of children held in secure and penal settings, and the practices that are used to assess and address them. The text, which draws on an intensive 12-month research project, examines issues facing children who are processed along distinct legal routes into either secure accommodation under civil/welfare statute, or Young Offender Institutions under criminal justice/remand legislation. It includes interviews with children, secure unit staff, Independent Persons, Children's guardians, and managers and practitioners from The Children's Society, which serve to show the realities of life inside locked institutions.