❓ Question regarding deaths in youth detention, Minister responds by highlighting improvements at Banksia Hill and Unit 18, increased support, and challenges of the detainee cohort.
AnsweredQoN 565Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
YOUTH DETENTION — DEATHS IN CUSTODY
565. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Corrective Services:
I refer to the death of a second
First Nations teenager in detention in Western Australia in just the last 12
months.
How many more tragedies and deaths
in custody need to happen under the minister's watch before he will
acknowledge that the current youth custodial arrangements are simply not
working?
565. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Corrective Services:
I refer to the death of a second
First Nations teenager in detention in Western Australia in just the last 12
months.
How many more tragedies and deaths
in custody need to happen under the minister's watch before he will
acknowledge that the current youth custodial arrangements are simply not
working?
AnswerView source ↗
At
the outset, I once again extend my condolences to the family of the young
person who took their life at Banksia Hill Detention Centre last week. I
also extend my thoughts and support to all those personnel who worked so hard
at Banksia Hill in particular, and also at unit 18, to provide care to the
people in their charge.
As
has been indicated by the Premier, Banksia Hill and unit 18 have vastly and
dramatically improved since last year and
continue to improve on an almost daily basis. The level of support that is
afforded to juveniles in detention has dramatically increased. There are
far more staff involved in the provision of care to the people inside Banksia
Hill and unit 18. There are a range of supports that were not present only last
year and are certainly worth far in excess of those present during the last
time the member was in government.
At
Banksia Hill and unit 18, there is now an Aboriginal services unit led by Will
Hayward. There is a team of elders and mentors, which was not in existence
prior to this year. They are constantly there between Banksia Hill and unit 18.
There are additional supports provided by external agencies like NOFASD
Australia and—it is not called Telethon Kids Institute anymore —
Ms H.M. Beazley : The Kids.
Mr P. PAPALIA : It is called
The Kids Research Institute Australia. There are additional supports in terms
of research and assistance with the provision of tailored support to juvenile
detainees. We have in-reach from health and mental health specialists and extraordinary
levels of attendance at school. At Banksia Hill, out-of-cell hours were
between, I think, seven and 10 hours on average over the last four months. At
unit 18, it was between five and seven hours. Importantly, as the Premier
indicated, there are far fewer juveniles in detention because it is viewed as a
last resort. Today, there are 52 juveniles in detention in Western Australia,
with 47 at Banksia Hill and five at unit 18.
The bottom line of the member's
appalling suggestion or insinuation about caring for juveniles in detention is
that by definition, it is a really challenging cohort of people whom the very
dedicated professional people inside Banksia
Hill and unit 18 have to deal with. I have to place on the record that I am in
awe of the quality of the people we are attracting to the youth
custodial officer profession. It is a calling. These people are not prison
officers. They are not guards. In many respects, they are the family of a lot
of these detainees. In effect, it is almost the universal experience of these
detainees that they have been neglected or abused or both since as far back as
when they were in the womb. Many of them come to the attention of the
authorities only when they start offending at the current age of criminal
responsibility of 10. Many of them have been known to the people who work in
Banksia Hill and unit 18 since they were that age, as was this young fella who
took his life.
When I went there on the morning of
his death, we had briefings with the Commissioner of Corrective Services, who
is an excellent public servant doing extraordinary work. He went to Banksia
Hill in the middle of the night to meet with the staff and provide them
support. He viewed CCTV imagery of officers to determine the nature of their service provision on the evening so that he
was able to make statements about his initial observations. He also stayed and came to brief the Premier and me before we did a press conference
and subsequently visited the site.
I spoke to youth custodial officers
who had worked that night and were there still, and many others who had come in
in the next shift. I spoke to detainees who were close friends of the young man
who died. I have to place on the record that in this case, we will learn, look
at what happened and determine what we can do to make things better. He came in and was there for two days. On the
first day, he was placed under risk management because he had come in
intoxicated and potentially under the influence of illicit drugs. He was
observed in the intensive supervision unit. Even during that day when he was in
the intensive supervision unit, he was out of cell for more than six hours. The
next day, he was assessed and released into the general population. As I understand
it, on that day, he was out of cell for more than eight hours.
There was no indication that he was
intending to self-harm. It is an absolute tragedy that it occurred, but it is
really shameful that the member should seek to try to make political mileage
out of it.
the outset, I once again extend my condolences to the family of the young
person who took their life at Banksia Hill Detention Centre last week. I
also extend my thoughts and support to all those personnel who worked so hard
at Banksia Hill in particular, and also at unit 18, to provide care to the
people in their charge.
As
has been indicated by the Premier, Banksia Hill and unit 18 have vastly and
dramatically improved since last year and
continue to improve on an almost daily basis. The level of support that is
afforded to juveniles in detention has dramatically increased. There are
far more staff involved in the provision of care to the people inside Banksia
Hill and unit 18. There are a range of supports that were not present only last
year and are certainly worth far in excess of those present during the last
time the member was in government.
At
Banksia Hill and unit 18, there is now an Aboriginal services unit led by Will
Hayward. There is a team of elders and mentors, which was not in existence
prior to this year. They are constantly there between Banksia Hill and unit 18.
There are additional supports provided by external agencies like NOFASD
Australia and—it is not called Telethon Kids Institute anymore —
Ms H.M. Beazley : The Kids.
Mr P. PAPALIA : It is called
The Kids Research Institute Australia. There are additional supports in terms
of research and assistance with the provision of tailored support to juvenile
detainees. We have in-reach from health and mental health specialists and extraordinary
levels of attendance at school. At Banksia Hill, out-of-cell hours were
between, I think, seven and 10 hours on average over the last four months. At
unit 18, it was between five and seven hours. Importantly, as the Premier
indicated, there are far fewer juveniles in detention because it is viewed as a
last resort. Today, there are 52 juveniles in detention in Western Australia,
with 47 at Banksia Hill and five at unit 18.
The bottom line of the member's
appalling suggestion or insinuation about caring for juveniles in detention is
that by definition, it is a really challenging cohort of people whom the very
dedicated professional people inside Banksia
Hill and unit 18 have to deal with. I have to place on the record that I am in
awe of the quality of the people we are attracting to the youth
custodial officer profession. It is a calling. These people are not prison
officers. They are not guards. In many respects, they are the family of a lot
of these detainees. In effect, it is almost the universal experience of these
detainees that they have been neglected or abused or both since as far back as
when they were in the womb. Many of them come to the attention of the
authorities only when they start offending at the current age of criminal
responsibility of 10. Many of them have been known to the people who work in
Banksia Hill and unit 18 since they were that age, as was this young fella who
took his life.
When I went there on the morning of
his death, we had briefings with the Commissioner of Corrective Services, who
is an excellent public servant doing extraordinary work. He went to Banksia
Hill in the middle of the night to meet with the staff and provide them
support. He viewed CCTV imagery of officers to determine the nature of their service provision on the evening so that he
was able to make statements about his initial observations. He also stayed and came to brief the Premier and me before we did a press conference
and subsequently visited the site.
I spoke to youth custodial officers
who had worked that night and were there still, and many others who had come in
in the next shift. I spoke to detainees who were close friends of the young man
who died. I have to place on the record that in this case, we will learn, look
at what happened and determine what we can do to make things better. He came in and was there for two days. On the
first day, he was placed under risk management because he had come in
intoxicated and potentially under the influence of illicit drugs. He was
observed in the intensive supervision unit. Even during that day when he was in
the intensive supervision unit, he was out of cell for more than six hours. The
next day, he was assessed and released into the general population. As I understand
it, on that day, he was out of cell for more than eight hours.
There was no indication that he was
intending to self-harm. It is an absolute tragedy that it occurred, but it is
really shameful that the member should seek to try to make political mileage
out of it.
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