2.6.1 It was emphasised that most of the children at the Medium B centre had committed serious crimes, mostly rape. Although the centre is in constant communication with the Free State Justice Forum, courts are reportedly reluctant to hand down alternative sentences owing to the seriousness of the crimes the children have committed. Instead, harsher sentences for children have become very common. Given the nature of their crimes, the children could only be accommodated in secure care centres that meet the necessary security criteria. The centre reported, and the delegation's interactions with the children revealed, that very few of them receive visits from their families.