❓ The Minister for Corrective Services outlines steps taken to improve youth detention, including increased funding, staffing, and improved conditions at Banksia Hill and Unit 18, alongside plans for a specialist facility.
AnsweredQoN 933Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORRECTIVE SERVICES —
YOUTH DETENTION
933. Mr T.J. HEALY to the Minister for Corrective Services:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
commitment to continuing to improve our state's youth justice system.
(1) Can the
minister advise the house what steps this government is taking to address the
needs of young offenders while keeping the public and detainees safe?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house whether he is aware of any alternative approaches to
managing young offenders?
YOUTH DETENTION
933. Mr T.J. HEALY to the Minister for Corrective Services:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
commitment to continuing to improve our state's youth justice system.
(1) Can the
minister advise the house what steps this government is taking to address the
needs of young offenders while keeping the public and detainees safe?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house whether he is aware of any alternative approaches to
managing young offenders?
AnswerView source ↗
Thank you, member, for the question.
I did myself an injury standing up then. It has been a long year.
(1)–(2) I
just confirm to the house that the Premier and I today announced some
significant measures in response to improving juvenile detention. Also, we were
able to confirm that significant progress has been made. Banksia Hill Detention Centre detainees over the
last month have averaged nine hours out of cell. Probably even more
significantly, we are also able to report that assaults on staff are down 39 per
cent and critical incidents are down 21 per cent compared with the first half
of the year. That is a really big advance. We all know that part of the reason
for the staffing challenges until recently was the outrageous rate of staff
assaults and the fear they felt going to work. That has been addressed
significantly.
I also confirm to the house that
young people at Banksia Hill and in unit 18 are now supported by a multidisciplinary
team from Health, including child health specialists and an eight-person Aboriginal
services unit, with the Telethon Kids Institute, the Derbarl Yerrigan Health
Service and additional Aboriginal mentors set to provide further support in
coming months. We are making a lot of progress.
Unit 18, too, has seen improvements
in out-of-cell hours, which averaged four and a half hours over the last month.
That sounds low, but I can tell members that is improving. When dealing with a significantly complex, challenging and very often violent
and dangerous cohort, that is real progress. In achieving that, the new
commissioner has employed a new operational model in unit 18 that effectively
separates juveniles in that cohort into three different groups.
One group, the most challenging, is
in one entire wing to themselves. A small number of around two or three has an
entire allocation of staff dedicated to them. Another wing is a transition
wing, and a third wing is where they need the least supervision. Each of those
has independent teams. If something kicks off in one wing, it will not impact
the others and we will not lock everybody down, which was a sad consequence of
what used to happen in the past. The hours out of cell are increasing overall,
but I can tell members that the group that requires the least supervision is
now out of their cells most of the day and make themselves breakfast in the
morning, which is an extraordinary leap forward in their supervision and their
behaviour. Obviously, they will then transition back to Banksia Hill, if not
into the community, as they leave.
Today, we also announced a substantial
increase in funding for juvenile detention of $77.1 million, $1 million of
which I will talk about in a moment. Of that, $76 million is dedicated to
increasing and improving services and support to juveniles in Banksia Hill and
unit 18 right now, with $34.2 million to boost staffing levels at Banksia Hill
and unit 18. It will be for youth custodial officers, Aboriginal health and
services officers, plus other nonoperational staff. On top of that, $8.2 million
will fund upgrades to programs and services such as cultural enrichment,
support offerings, Aboriginal health services and fetal alcohol spectrum
disorder training. Banksia Hill Detention Centre continues to be improved, with
$20.7 million for the planned construction of a crisis care unit to improve its
capacity.
All that is happening, and we have
announced $1 million dedicated to the rapid development of a business case for
a specialist facility to house the very specific cohort that we confront in
unit 18 at the moment. That means that there will be a building designed from
the ground up, adjacent to Banksia Hill, to enable the use of the staff and
services in both facilities. The site will be designed from the ground up to
house the really challenging cohort that we
can only house in unit 18 at the moment because they cannot be housed anywhere else safely. I know that the member asked whether there is an
alternative. Yes, there is. The alternative
being offered by the opposition is to put them in a demountable at Banksia Hill.
Needless to say , we will not do that.
That would jeopardise all the advances that have been made in both facilities
and r eally threaten the safety of the community, so we will not take the
advice from the opposition on this occasion. We will push on to improve things
right across the board in juvenile detention.
I did myself an injury standing up then. It has been a long year.
(1)–(2) I
just confirm to the house that the Premier and I today announced some
significant measures in response to improving juvenile detention. Also, we were
able to confirm that significant progress has been made. Banksia Hill Detention Centre detainees over the
last month have averaged nine hours out of cell. Probably even more
significantly, we are also able to report that assaults on staff are down 39 per
cent and critical incidents are down 21 per cent compared with the first half
of the year. That is a really big advance. We all know that part of the reason
for the staffing challenges until recently was the outrageous rate of staff
assaults and the fear they felt going to work. That has been addressed
significantly.
I also confirm to the house that
young people at Banksia Hill and in unit 18 are now supported by a multidisciplinary
team from Health, including child health specialists and an eight-person Aboriginal
services unit, with the Telethon Kids Institute, the Derbarl Yerrigan Health
Service and additional Aboriginal mentors set to provide further support in
coming months. We are making a lot of progress.
Unit 18, too, has seen improvements
in out-of-cell hours, which averaged four and a half hours over the last month.
That sounds low, but I can tell members that is improving. When dealing with a significantly complex, challenging and very often violent
and dangerous cohort, that is real progress. In achieving that, the new
commissioner has employed a new operational model in unit 18 that effectively
separates juveniles in that cohort into three different groups.
One group, the most challenging, is
in one entire wing to themselves. A small number of around two or three has an
entire allocation of staff dedicated to them. Another wing is a transition
wing, and a third wing is where they need the least supervision. Each of those
has independent teams. If something kicks off in one wing, it will not impact
the others and we will not lock everybody down, which was a sad consequence of
what used to happen in the past. The hours out of cell are increasing overall,
but I can tell members that the group that requires the least supervision is
now out of their cells most of the day and make themselves breakfast in the
morning, which is an extraordinary leap forward in their supervision and their
behaviour. Obviously, they will then transition back to Banksia Hill, if not
into the community, as they leave.
Today, we also announced a substantial
increase in funding for juvenile detention of $77.1 million, $1 million of
which I will talk about in a moment. Of that, $76 million is dedicated to
increasing and improving services and support to juveniles in Banksia Hill and
unit 18 right now, with $34.2 million to boost staffing levels at Banksia Hill
and unit 18. It will be for youth custodial officers, Aboriginal health and
services officers, plus other nonoperational staff. On top of that, $8.2 million
will fund upgrades to programs and services such as cultural enrichment,
support offerings, Aboriginal health services and fetal alcohol spectrum
disorder training. Banksia Hill Detention Centre continues to be improved, with
$20.7 million for the planned construction of a crisis care unit to improve its
capacity.
All that is happening, and we have
announced $1 million dedicated to the rapid development of a business case for
a specialist facility to house the very specific cohort that we confront in
unit 18 at the moment. That means that there will be a building designed from
the ground up, adjacent to Banksia Hill, to enable the use of the staff and
services in both facilities. The site will be designed from the ground up to
house the really challenging cohort that we
can only house in unit 18 at the moment because they cannot be housed anywhere else safely. I know that the member asked whether there is an
alternative. Yes, there is. The alternative
being offered by the opposition is to put them in a demountable at Banksia Hill.
Needless to say , we will not do that.
That would jeopardise all the advances that have been made in both facilities
and r eally threaten the safety of the community, so we will not take the
advice from the opposition on this occasion. We will push on to improve things
right across the board in juvenile detention.
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