‘Violent jails’ used as reason to bail young offenders
ESCALATING violence in juvenile justice centres is being used to try to convince magistrates to bail youth defendants, with the teens warned of “scary” scenes in Parkville and Malmsbury detention centres.
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EXCLUSIVE: Escalating violence in juvenile justice centres is being used to try to convince magistrates to bail teen defendants.
And the magistrates are warning the teens they face “scary” scenes in Parkville and Malmsbury detention centres.
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On hearing of one teen’s unruly behaviour and repeated assaults on fellow inmates and staff, magistrate Jane Gibson said: “Parkville is just becoming a very, very scary place to be in. People have a right to feel safe in there.”
Last month, the Herald Sun revealed that assaults at the Melbourne Youth Justice Centre in Parkville had risen from 31 in 2016 to 161 last year.
Police have reported being called there on a daily basis for violence and unruly behaviour.
The Herald Sun, sitting in the Children’s Court in recent weeks, heard of many cases of teenagers on remand attacking each other.
One teen on remand for car thefts and armed robberies in which hundreds of cigarettes were stolen pleaded guilty to charges over 10 incidents inside Parkville and Malmsbury.
They included assault and criminal damage. On one occasion, he called a Malmsbury staff member a “f---ing slut” before throwing ice-cream at her.
When she asked why he did it, he spat in her face.
He also smashed a guitar over a detainee’s head, kicked a youth in an unprovoked gang attack, and attacked staff to try to get a security door pass.
The teen also caused more than $7000 worth of damage in separate outbursts, trashing fire sprinkler systems and causing widespread flooding, tearing up vinyl flooring, and pulling phones from walls.
Presiding magistrate Michelle Hodgson said: “I’m quite seriously shocked. There’s clearly a lengthy history … I give all the young people now before me ... a clear and ample warning that there won’t be any concurrency in sentence if you misbehave in custody.”
From April 4, youths who commit criminal damage in custody must receive extra time in detention.
The new law followed riots at Parkville and Malmsbury for which the damages bill rose into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Ms Hodgson, who said she was seeing “too many” cases of assaults in custody, told one teen on an armed robbery charge to stay away from trouble on remand and focus on his education instead.
She told him and others before her that any crimes in custody would be frowned upon.
In an unsuccessful bail application, the boy’s lawyer said the risks on remand would make his client, who had never been in custody, vulnerable.
“We see in court each day youths being assaulted in detention,” he said.