Children spending 22 hours a day in cells and sleeping on floor as Cairns watch house numbers swell

Children as young as 11 spend at least 22 hours a day in their cell and have been forced to sleep on the floor as the number of teens being locked up in the Cairns adult Watch House has rapidly grown.

Cairns District Police Headquarters building on Sheridan St contains the Cairns Watch House.

Children as young as 11 spend at least 22 hours a day in their cell and have been forced to sleep on the floor as the number of teens being locked up in the Cairns adult Watch House has rapidly grown in the last 10 months.

The revelation comes as the state government announced legislative amendments allowing it to imprison children in police adult watch houses indefinitely “even if it would not be compatible with human rights”.

Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan told parliament last week, “The amendments will override the Human Rights Act … to allow a detention centre to be established at a police watch house or a part of a corrective services facility,” he said.

A typical example of a single bed Australian watch house.

The move would likely mean more children would be staying in adult watch houses for longer periods of time.

But Youth Empowered Toward Independence chief executive Genevieve Sinclair said the number of children in adult watch houses increased around November last year and rose again in May 2023 after the government passed a suite of youth justice laws, including making breach of bail an offence for young people.

Ms Sinclair said children in the Cairns watch house are usually locked inside their small cells for 22 hours a day without any access to school, rehabilitative services and with limited medical care.

Police figures also reveal the number of children staying in the watch house is higher this year than 2022 levels.

“For the twelve months to August 25, 2023; 1131 juveniles were held at the Cairns watch-house, of which 760 were males,” a Queensland Police Services spokesman revealed.

This includes 773 so far this year, which based on the daily average will mean around 200 more juveniles are forecast to be locked in the Cairns adult watch house this year.

The increased number of children detained in the watch house means children have been sleeping on the floor more, often with up to four minors being detained in the two-bed cells in recent months, Ms Sinclair said.

Each cell has a low ceiling, two plastic covered foam beds, a toilet with low partitions in full view of CCTV cameras, and little natural light with fluorescent lights glowing all day until 9pm.

Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan during question time at Queensland parliament. The legalisation of minors in indefinite detention at adult facilities are one of 57 amendments the government plans to make law.

Time in the watch house’s small enclosed courtyard is usually limited to two hours a day at the most but has been less than that some days lately because the watch house is running at capacity, Ms Sinclair said.

More than 100 of the 200 children who spent time in watch houses and were supported by YETI in the last 12 months have spent at least seven days in the facility for adults.

A total of 21 children stayed there for 15 days or more, with police saying the longest a child had spent in the watch house was 21 days.

YETI said an 11-year-old boy had stayed there three times for five and six-day stints this year.

The average stay, according to police, is 46 hours.

One child said they had seen boys “get bashed” in Cairns watch house while another child who stayed there described it as “dirty, not good for hygiene” saying, “I prefer to be in detention, proper food and shower every day and night and a good change of clothes”.

Another complained that, “The boys watch you when you go to the toilet”.

Figures from the Productivity Commission show Queensland’s youth detention rates are higher than any other state or territory in Australia.

Earlier this month, YETI took the government to court, successfully arguing the detention of children in watch houses for extended periods was illegal.

Ms Sinclair described Cairns watch house as a “recidivism factory” where “children are traumatised” by incarceration.

“The long hours of lockdown mean children come out hurt and angry – and go on to commit more crimes, then go back into the watch house and it creates a vicious cycle that we are now stuck in”.

CEO of Youth Empowered Towards Independence (YETI) Genevieve Sinclair. Picture: Brendan Radke

Debbie Kilroy, from Sisters Inside, said she wanted to know if the new amendments would mean children in the watch houses had the same rights as those in detention centres, such as the ability to see their family and attend school.

A victim crime advocate told the Cairns Post that placing young people in adult watch houses was “immoral and unethical”.

“It’s a sign (the new amendments legalising indefinite detention of children in adult facilities) that the government is desperate and has lost control of youth justice matters,” said Aaron McLeod, from Crime and Justice Action Group.

Mr McLeod said his group has long advocated for “youth rehabilitation academies” with “all the services children need”.

Cleveland Youth Detention Centre.

Ms Sinclair said she wanted to see children charged with serious offences placed in a “therapeutic environment”.

“We think the government should be considering alternative options to keeping children in watch houses,” she said.

“Staffing levels are already out of control at Cairns watch house, so why are we looking at tying up more police resources (with these amendments) when they are already under-resourced.

“There is room for a temporary extension at Cleveland, and they should be building demountables there until the new facility in Cairns is built”.

In response to the allegations of young people’s living conditions at the Cairns watch house Police Minister Mark Ryan said: “If people break the law and wish to do harm to the community then there will be consequences. If someone breaks the law and does harm to the community they forfeit the privilege of enjoying the same rights as other law-abiding citizens of the community”.

“The government makes no apology for targeting those who wish to do harm to the community”.

Originally published as Children spending 22 hours a day in cells and sleeping on floor as Cairns watch house numbers swell