Guards flee Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre as teen thugs run riot

UPDATE: VICTORIA’S worst kid criminals took over a juvenile justice centre last night running riot as 12 teen prisoners kept guards at bay for five hours.

The damage bill could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to one source.

A YOUTH detention centre has been branded “out of control” after Victoria’s worst teen criminals ran riot in their most frightening rampage yet.

The teenage thugs took over their unit in the Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre and, in chaotic scenes, kept guards at bay for three hours, brandishing makeshift weapons and smashing windows and fittings.

Calls have been made for those responsible for Saturday night’s riot to be charged, as authorities increasingly express alarm at the serious crimes committed by some young offenders.

Youth Affairs Minister Jenny Mikakos said some of the ringleaders of Saturday night’s rampage had previously been imprisoned at the Parkville Youth Justice Centre.

She said they had been transferred to a section of Malmsbury, which is deemed to be the state’s highest security youth justice facility, and could now face being moved to an adult prison.

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the behaviour by young people at Malmsbury on Saturday night,” Ms Mikakos said.

“Our staff should not have to put up with this.”

Ms Mikakos vowed “far tougher measures” to “stamp out this behaviour” but she would not reveal any new plans, saying that the government would announce changes “very soon”.

Opposition spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the youth justice system was “in crisis” as “the escalation of violence and destruction continues”.

“The law needs to be laid down so that the consequences are understood,” she said. “Police need to investigate and lay charges if needed.”

Ms Mikakos said no one was injured in Saturday night’s riot but that the incident would be investigated. She said the damage bill was at least “thousands of dollars”.

She said the government would have an extra 60 staff in place at Parkville and Malmsbury by the end of this year, including 23 who would be inducted this month.

Senior youth justice sources say the Malmsbury centre, in central ­Victoria, is out of control, and Premier Daniel Andrews must intervene.

One said the damage bill for the riot could run into hundreds of ­thousands of dollars.

“The situation is that it’s out of control,” the source said.

“The centre is in crisis. These events unfold regularly. Whatever they could damage, they damaged.

“These kids know once they’ve got control, they can just go on a ­rampage.”

The Herald Sun has been told that staff and specially trained anti-riot ­officers did not enter the justice centre’s Deakin unit from 7pm until 10pm on Saturday because the situation was deemed to be too dangerous.

The latest mayhem was the worst in a succession of wild outbreaks at Malmsbury in recent months.

Just days ago the Herald Sun revealed that former Victoria Police chief commissioner Neil Comrie had been called in to provide a report on a previous rampage at the centre.

The Herald Sun has been told that staff and specially-trained anti-riot officers did not enter the unit during the trouble, from 7pm until 10pm, because it was deemed too dangerous.

Victoria Police spokesman Adam West said the incident had been resolved by centre staff.

“Local police attended but the matter was resolved internally without police intervention ... Detectives will investigate the damage caused to the centre,” he said.

Even though some of the centre’s worst troublemakers are over 18, it’s rare for them to be transferred from juvenile justice to an adult prison.

Fears that staff are struggling to deal with increasingly violent youths have prompted calls for a super security detention centre for young people.

The Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre has an average of 71.9 “clients” per day, up from 57 in 2014/15.

Opposition youth crime spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said: “Daniel Andrews needs to step in and fix this mess.

“Too many Victorians are already living in fear because the government won’t take action against violent youth gangs and now those few offenders that are taken off the streets are making a mockery of the detention system.

“Daniel Andrews’ soft approach on law and order is ripping our communities apart.

“Victorians will expect charges to be laid.”

A WorkSafe report last month found that the lives of staff members at Malmsbury were in danger if the situation did not improve.

Some workers at the troubled centre believe it is more dangerous than an adult jail.

Female staff are regularly threatened with rape, the Herald Sun has been told.

On September 17, inmates climbed onto the roof of the justice centre during a 2½-hour siege.

Mike Griffin, speaking for the Department of Health and Human Services, said: “Members of the Youth Justice Safety Emergency Response Team safely resolved the incident within the Deakin Unit at approximately 9.50pm.

“There were no injuries to staff or young people.”