Children 'held like animals' in Brisbane watchhouse denied pencils, pens

Children locked up in the Brisbane police watchhouse begged for maths and drawing lessons but the state government said no.

Brisbane Times has obtained hundreds of documents detailing how children as young as 10 have been held in maximum security watchhouses with no pencils, pens or calculators.

On Monday there were 79 children in watchhouses around the state. Credit: Google Streetview

At one point they were given charcoal to use but that was taken away, too.

Until two months ago, teachers were not permitted inside the watchhouse to run short lessons for the children.

“[Youth Justice is] aware it is not possible for us to supply teachers/aides/tutors as the watchhouse would never agree to it for security reasons and it is outside of the teaching agreement,” a Department of Education policy manager wrote in an email in August 2018.

Some children wanted to keep up their education but needed teachers to run through the material with them.

But the state government decided it would not commit resources to give the children - many of whom without convictions - held in the Brisbane watchhouse access to teachers or proper education materials.

“Unfortunately the youth workers are not able to provide any one-on-one assistance (too many young people, and not enough workers),” the manager wrote in another email in November.

In a email chain from July 2018, a group of policy advisers scratched their heads trying to figure out what they could take into the watchhouse to keep young people occupied.

“Far out... nothing is easy. What about crayons? I wonder if we can escalate that issue,” one adviser from the Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women wrote.

“Dave, do you think the DG [director-general] would call the Police Commissioner and say ‘listen mate if we assess the kids as safe, we think they should be allowed a pen? I am being serious."

The government also decided Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four were not appropriate reading materials for young people in watchhouses.

Public Guardian Natalie Siegel-Brown said she had been urging the government for months to “at the very least” bus the children out to a youth detention centre during the day so they could access education, fresh air and psychological services.

Ms Siegel-Brown took the recommendation to a meeting convened by the Premier’s office in February which was attended by the Police Commissioner, the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, the Child Commissioner and the director of Child Safety, Youth and Women.

Nothing happened.

“I have visited the Brisbane watchhouse and seen with my own eyes children who are cold, who are hungry, who haven’t accessed any real outdoor air for two weeks or more, and who have little or no access to education,” Ms Siegel-Brown said.

“Some are being held in these conditions for weeks at a time.

“Remember, these are children as young as 10 or 11. Almost none have been convicted of a crime – they are simply on remand. Many of them have no place to be bailed."

Ms Siegel-Brown told the ABC's Four Corners that the children were being "held like caged animals in concrete pens".

Child Safety Minister Di Farmer told the Parliament on Tuesday that the Labor government was "committed to changing the life trajectories of the young people in our justice system".Credit: AAP Image/ Dave Hunt

"Education packs" have been handed out at the watchhouse from November, which include Sudoku puzzles and Where's Wally? books.

Maths worksheets were originally included, but the department decided to stop providing those because they required "too much one-on-one assistance and too much explanation".

The "shocking" treatment of children in Queensland’s watchhouses was thrust into the spotlight by Amnesty International, which obtained the internal department documents under Right to Information laws.

Amnesty International Australia Indigenous rights advocate Joel Clark said children housed in ordinary youth detention were protected under the Youth Justice Act, which stipulates they must have certain access to education.

Children in the watchhouse were not granted those same protections, he said.

“Any time spent in the watchhouse is only further harming them, further traumatising them and further criminalising them.

“Taking them out of the education system for any amount of time is obviously going to be doing them more harm," Mr Clark told Brisbane Times.

“They need to have access to education to be able to set them up in the best way possible to put back into the community."

Mr Clark said Amnesty first raised concerns about children being held in watchhouses with Child Safety Minister Di Farmer in June 2018. Further letters were sent in November and December 2018.

Ms Farmer told the Parliament on Tuesday the Labor government was "committed to changing the life trajectories of the young people in our justice system".

"Addressing issues of our youth justice system will not be a quick fix," she said.

"Our $320 million youth justice investment package will see an additional 48 beds come online by 2020, in addition to a range of initiatives aimed at reducing the number of young people entering the youth justice system in the first place."

Despite some of the children being as young as 10, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said during question time on Tuesday:  "I re-emphasise that the best way to break the youth justice cycle is for young people to get a job. That is what it is about."

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said the Premier needed to build temporary accommodation immediately.

"I have one thing to say to Annastacia Palaszczuk get these kids out of the watchhouse today," she said.

"You can build a mine camp in less than four days, surely we can get these kids out into temporary accommodation."

Ms Palaszczuk said temporary demountable accommodation did not meet youth justice design standards and would increase the risk of escape, injury and suicide.

“I will not under any circumstances put these young people in irresponsible temporary accommodation where a young person could commit suicide,” she said.