Victorian Police Association calls for new youth justice facility for high-risk young criminals
A SUPER security youth justice centre jail must be built in Victoria as present facilities, including the severely damaged Parkville centre are inadequate, the Police Association says.
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VICTORIA needs a super security youth justice centre for high-risk offenders, according to the Police Association.
Secretary Wayne Gatt has told a parliamentary committee a separate facility was needed to house “young men’’ who were a risk to staff and other children.
“You have a cohort of people in detention and some of those people are an extreme security risk,” Mr Gatt said.
“Those facilities presently do not have the infrastructure to deal with that.
“It’s not about turning these places into prisons, but what it is about is making sure young children in these places can actually be safe.”
His call came after he revealed Victorian police resources were increasingly being chewed up by riots and assault investigations in youth-justice facilities.
Staff are not reporting incidents, fearing reprisals from young offenders.
Concerns about inadequate security screenings were also raised.
It was also revealed today the buildings destroyed in a riot at the Parkville youth justice facility could be restored to their original state for just $460,000 rather than the millions the state government spent.
But Youth Affairs minister Jenny Mikakos told a parliamentary inquiry the Parkville Youth Justice centre — half of which was destroyed in riots in November — was not “fit for purpose” and needed an upgrade.
The panel was told contraband was regularly entering youth detention facilities.
“The system has not been able to evolve quickly enough,” Mr Gatt said.
“We need to recognise this.”
Mr Gatt warned staff had told police they were incapable of responding to violent situations and workers would simply “watch offenders rip apart” rooms during unrest.
Mr Gatt also indicated there were reports youth justice staff were not willing to use specialised equipment including capsicum spray to deal with conflict.
When asked about a separate facility for serious offenders, Mr Gatt said it was necessary to have one centre to handle serial violent criminals as well as a centre which focused on rehabilitation and schooling for low-risk youths.
A similar plan was put forward by the Community Public Sector Union last year.
Spokesman Julian Kennelly called for a “purpose built management facility’’ which had higher security than current juvenile detention centres, designed to house up to 20 underage offenders and staffed by Corrections Victoria, not departmental workers.
The most recent call comes after the Victorian Government lost several court battles to house the state’s worst young criminals in a high-security unit in Barwon Prison, this year.
Minister for Youth Affairs Jenny Mikakos has previously not supported building a separate facility.
However, she has revealed plans for a new Werribee centre, which would include a unit for aggressive detainees.
PARKVILLE REPAIR COST REVEALED
REPAIRING the destroyed Parkville building could have cost just $460,000, it was revealed today.
But Youth Affairs minister Jenny Mikakos said the centre was not “fit for purpose” and needed an upgrade.
The government has budgeted $58 million repairing and fortifying the Parkville and Malmsbury facilities.
A large portion of the work was to plug up weak spots in the ceilings and air ducts which youth prisoners used to escape from their cells.
Teen prisoners were moved to adult maximum security prison in Geelong following the riots.
The Public Accounts and Estimates hearing was told that the government did not yet know how much the legal challenges to moving youth prisoners to Barwon Prison would cost.
The Supreme Court first ruled it was illegal to hold the teen prisoners at the Grevillea Unit in Barwon because the government made an administrative error.
As yet no teen held at Grevillea has launched a damages claim against the government for holding them illegally.
But Department of Health and Human Service secretary said legal advice was that it would be a “high bar” for any claim to be successful.
Human rights legal services launched three cases against the government’s decision to move the prisoners there.
The first Supreme Court hearing found Barwon had been improperly gazetted as a youth facility and holding children there was illegal.
The government regazetted the Grevillea Unit correctly but the Supreme Court later ruled holding the teen’s at the adult facility breached their human rights.
JAIL SCHOOL HEAD ‘PRESSURED’ TO MISLEAD
Brendan Murray the former head of Victoria’s youth jail school also appeared before the inquiry and said he was pressured to mislead authorities about what education could be provided at Grevillea in Barwon Prison and Parkville.
Mr Murray said he had a 25 minute conversation with Department of Education and Training Gill Callister and another executive about evidence he would provide to the Supreme Court during the Grevillea Unit legal battles.
He alleged he was leaned on to provide information that was untrue, which he refused to do.
A department spokesman denied the claim.
“Mr Murray has made these allegations in the media before,” he said.
“The Department strongly rejects any suggestion that it was seeking to influence testimony.”
Mr Murray also said the Supreme Court was misled about the number of secure beds available in youth justice, to help the government justify moving young offenders to Barwon Prison.
He said up to 40 beds at the Malmsbury centre were being occupied by low-risk offenders.
Mr Murray was later stood down and investigated over allegations he had given a letter to the Human Rights Legal Centre regarding secure beds, during the court proceedings.
The CPSU appeared before the inquiry earlier this morning, and called for better restraint powers for staff.