A/HRC/21/31 was expensive and generated more crime. He emphasized, like other panellists, that children deprived of liberty had about a 70 per cent chance of committing recurring offenses, while the recidivism rate of those who received other types of sanctions that did not include deprivation of liberty was only 20 per cent. 50. Mr. Puras explained that, from a public health perspective, there were many best practices at the level of primary and secondary prevention, such as the training of parents on non-violent disciplining methods of children, so the cycle of violence could be broken. He also mentioned the importance of prevention of bullying in schools. He said that political will was needed to increase social investment in secondary prevention to lower the number of children deprived of liberty—not only the 1 million in detention, but also the 2 million deprived of liberty in other types of institutions. Concerning the children of incarcerated parents, he stressed that the effects of separation in early childhood were harmful and that this was backed not only by social science, but also by neuroscience. He said that the worst case scenario was when a mother was imprisoned and her baby was placed in institutional care. Extensive evidence and studies had shown that the mental health and emotional well-being of the child would be harmed if he or she was put in institutional care and separated from the mother at a young age. 51. Mr. Kemokai referred to the reintegration of children who had been in prison with their parents. He said that, most often, it was young babies or children under 5 years of age who were allowed to remain with their mothers in prison. It was uncommon to find older children or children living in prison with their fathers. However, at a certain age, children had to leave the prison and the State had the responsibility to find an appropriate person to care for that child. In Sierra Leone, grandmothers or aunts were the ones often targeted to provide support for the child when he or she was taken from the mother in prison. Follow-up was required with social workers so that the family could be assisted in providing the child with support and the child’s progress integrating into school and the community could be followed. 15