Tasmania
Report Released Into Youth Education
The Tasmanian Custodial Inspector has released a report on the educational programs and training opportunities offered at the Ashley Youth Detention Centre.
The inspector found that this school is performing “to a very high standard” but is facing some challenges around staffing and lockdowns at the centre.
Regular lockdowns at the youth justice facility mean that children are often unable to attend school, the report found. Last year, classes were cancelled about a quarter of the time.
“Operational factors within Ashley Youth Detention Centre remain the greatest barrier to children and young people’s regular and uninterrupted access to education,” the Custodial Inspector said.
“It is no longer tenable to accept the status quo of children and young people in detention missing school for operational reasons.”
Victoria
Police Apologise For Death of Man in Watch House
The Victoria Police Chief Commissioner has apologised for the death of a man who was held for hours in a watch house with a brain injury while waiting for medical assistance.
The coronial inquest into the death of John Makai in September 2023 was recently held in Victoria.
The inquest was shown CCTV video of police officers carrying Makai’s limb body into a holding cell in Broadmeadows, after they were called following an altercation at his house.
Body-worn camera footage from the officers showed the man standing up, then losing balance and falling back into a bookcase, hitting his head.
The coronial inquest heard that “it appears…a developing brain injury was impeding his ability to walk”.
Officers at the time thought he was in a “deep drunken sleep”, but the inquest heard this “may have actually been a traumatic injury and bleeding into the brain”.
The man remained basically motionless in the cell for four hours overnight, with no police officers entering the cell during this period.
It wasn’t until a new watch house sergeant arrived at 6am that an ambulance was called, and it was discovered that Makai had a traumatic brain injury. He later died in hospital.
A lawyer for the Chief Commissioner admitted that the custody officers had not completed a medical checklist or risk assessment at the police station, and apologised over the death.
“It’s a situation which we work tirelessly to avoid,” the lawyer told the inquest. “In this case, however, my client acknowledges at the outside of this inquest that the standards of care in custody fell short of expected standards.”
Review Into Transfer of Children to Adult Prisons
A 16-year-old boy was held in a maximum-security adult prison in conditions that “bordered on solitary confinement” for more than 22 hours per day after he was transferred from a youth justice facility, an investigation has found.
The Victorian Ombudsman found that the boy’s human rights were breached by the Department of Justice and Corrective Services’ (DJCS) decision to move him from Parkville Youth Justice Precinct to Melbourne Assessment Prison.
At the adult prison, the teenager was kept in his cell for more than 22 hours each day, and was often handcuffed when he was let out.
He had little access to the outside, no in-person visits and just three hours of education time across six weeks, the Ombudsman found.
The human rights assessment completed as part of this transfer was written in just one day, the Ombudsman found, and was done in consultation with the staff who were managing the child and without all the relevant information.
The findings come as reforms to how child transfers to adult prisons have just come into effect, with the grounds to do so being broadened and made more subjective.
This has led to concerns that more children will be placed in adult prisons due to the changes. The Ombudsman has called on DJCS to ensure it conducts proper human rights assessments before this takes place.
Under Victorian law, a child who is 16 years or older can be moved to an adult prison under certain circumstances, as a last resort.
To do this, DJCS must make an application to the Youth Parole Board, and the department is required to act in a way that is compatible with the state’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities.
Under reforms that came into effect from September, existing safeguards around the transfer of children to adult prisons have been removed.
There is now a more subjective test in place, meaning that issues such as operational or resourcing pressure could lead to children being transferred, the Ombudsman said.
“It is imperative that the Department undertake meaningful human rights assessments to ensure that decisions are proportionate, lawful and consistent with the Charter, and that transfers remain a last resort,” the Ombudsman said.
“Children are not adults. They are developmentally distinct. Even those who have made poor decisions and caused harm to others need humane treatment that will promote their rehabilitation and eventual reintegration into society.”
The Ombudsman recommended that the Victorian government make it illegal to hold a child in an adult prison, and for the Youth Parole Board to be made subject to the human rights charter. These recommendations were rejected by the state government.
Review Into Transfer of Children to Adult Prisons
A 16-year-old boy was held in a maximum-security adult prison in conditions that “bordered on solitary confinement” for more than 22 hours per day after he was transferred from a youth justice facility, an investigation has found.
The Victorian Ombudsman found that the boy’s human rights were breached by the Department of Justice and Corrective Services’ (DJCS) decision to move him from Parkville Youth Justice Precinct to Melbourne Assessment Prison.
At the adult prison, the teenager was kept in his cell for more than 22 hours each day, and was often handcuffed when he was let out.
He had little access to the outside, no in-person visits and just three hours of education time across six weeks, the Ombudsman found.
The human rights assessment completed as part of this transfer was written in just one day, the Ombudsman found, and was done in consultation with the staff who were managing the child and without all the relevant information.
The findings come as reforms to how child transfers to adult prisons have just come into effect, with the grounds to do so being broadened and made more subjective.
This has led to concerns that more children will be placed in adult prisons due to the changes. The Ombudsman has called on DJCS to ensure it conducts proper human rights assessments before this takes place.
Under Victorian law, a child who is 16 years or older can be moved to an adult prison under certain circumstances, as a last resort.
To do this, DJCS must make an application to the Youth Parole Board, and the department is required to act in a way that is compatible with the state’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities.
Under reforms that came into effect from September, existing safeguards around the transfer of children to adult prisons have been removed.
There is now a more subjective test in place, meaning that issues such as operational or resourcing pressure could lead to children being transferred, the Ombudsman said.
“It is imperative that the Department undertake meaningful human rights assessments to ensure that decisions are proportionate, lawful and consistent with the Charter, and that transfers remain a last resort,” the Ombudsman said.
“Children are not adults. They are developmentally distinct. Even those who have made poor decisions and caused harm to others need humane treatment that will promote their rehabilitation and eventual reintegration into society.”
The Ombudsman recommended that the Victorian government make it illegal to hold a child in an adult prison, and for the Youth Parole Board to be made subject to the human rights charter. These recommendations were rejected by the state government.
