Alleged prison brekkie food fight caps week of violent brawls
A 14-year-old inmate allegedly stabbed a juvenile justice officer with a plastic knife after a fight of what he was served for breakfast. The alleged attack caps a week of violent incidents involving the state’s young offenders.
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An argument over breakfast is alleged to have led a 14-year-old to stab a juvenile justice officer with a plastic knife.
The incident comes as staff move a motion of no-confidence in the Juvenile Justice NSW executive, with the union declaring the system as “a school for crooks” where a small group of offenders were playing role model to the rest of the population.
The alleged knife incident occurred on Wednesday at the Riverina Juvenile Justice Centre in Wagga Wagga, with police charging a teenager with assault.
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At the same time, two separate assaults are alleged to have occurred at Cobham Juvenile Justice Centre with one officer taken by ambulance to hospital for stitches after being hit with a table tennis bat.
It is alleged three young criminals were involved in the attack, with one taking a bat to the officer.
Also at the same centre, two other officers were injured during an outbreak of violence with one being bitten and the other sustaining a leg injury.
The outbreak of violence follow police charging an 18-year-old from Frank Baxter Juvenile Justice Centre with assault the previous week.
It is alleged an officer was punched in the head during an unprovoked attack.
The Public Service Association took the matter to the Industrial Relations Commission last Friday, with the Juvenile Justice NSW agreeing to ensure extra staff were on hand when dealing with the inmate.
A Juvenile Justice source said the officer was taken to hospital for treatment after the incident, and is expected to remain off work “for months”.
The Public Service Association has been campaigning for a specialised unit to remove the worst offenders from the general juvenile population.
After months of resisting, the state government last year committed to an enhanced support unit for troublesome detainees.
Juvenile Justice NSW earlier this year also announced it would enlist additional staff to manage the most violent of young offenders, known as “A1 detainees” after several statewide stoppages and a long-running industrial dispute with the union.
A specialised immediate response team would also be established at Cobham Juvenile Justice Centre with a review of the detainee incentive scheme to take place, including increased sanctions and penalties for misbehaviour.
While the union welcomed the move, it has raised concerns the measures would impact on other areas of centres with the government not committing any new money to pay for the initiatives.
On Friday, the union voted a motion of no-confidence in the executive of Juvenile Justice NSW following the space of incidents.
Declaring the system in “crisis”, PSA general secretary Stewart Little said there had been almost three months of talks on the therapeutic and high-risk offender units to separate out the smallish cohort causing a disproportionate danger to staff and other offenders.
Without the unit, juvenile justice was essentially operating as a “school for crooks”, he said.
“But the government has kept quiet on it would fund specialist units which raises the questions about how committed it truly is to improving the conditions of staff and offenders in the system,” Mr Little said.
A Juvenile Justice NSW spokesman said there were many controls in place for staff to manage detainees with challenging behaviours, including Detainee Risk Management Programs.
“All frontline custodial staff have undergone refreshed protective tactics as well as de-escalation and negotiation training over the last 12 months,” the spokesman said.
“Detainee Risk Management Programs are individualised risk management plans developed to manage young people who are deemed high-risk.
“These plans can limit their access to programs and place restrictions on who they can associate with. DRMPs are continually reviewed to ensure they provide proper management and oversight of the young person.”