Youth criminals bribed with pizza, video games and takeaway food in return for good behaviour
UPDATE: TEEN inmates will be banned from playing violent video games following revelations young criminals had been given access to the Halo shooting game.
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TEEN inmates will be banned from playing violent videogames following revelations young criminals had been given access to the Halo shooting game.
Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos admitted the Halo game had been given to youths detained at the maximum-security Barwon Prison’s Grevillea unit, as part of a controversial reward system.
As revealed by the Herald Sun, there had been plans to continue the game reward across other youth prisons.
“I can assure you there will be no Halo and no games of that nature (in other youth facilities),” Ms Mikakos told 3AW.
“It’s one facility and it’s no longer going to be there.”
She said she “googled” the game and believed it to be a “science fiction” game rated PG.
The Halo game is listed on parenting websites as one of the top 10 violent games.
Victoria’s worst young criminals are being bribed to behave behind bars with a gold-class rewards system.
The three-tiered system sees teenage thugs given extra canteen money, pizza, violent video games and cooking lessons.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal that the gold, silver and bronze “promoting positive behaviour program” has been tested in the jail which has been deemed to have violated the youths’ human rights.
Under the program, set to be expanded in Parkville and Malmsbury youth prisons:
GROUP takeaway and treat nights are given to “well-behaved” inmates;
VIOLENT video game Halo is provided in cells to teens on the “standard” silver category;
CANTEEN money ranging from $5 to $15 is given out for buying lollies, noodles, popcorn and mini pizzas.
Last week a Supreme Court judge ruled as unlawful last November’s transfer of teenage criminals to Barwon Prison’s Grevillea unit, which had been specially redesignated a youth jail.
The young inmates have now been moved out of Barwon.
An affidavit from that court action obtained by the Sunday Herald Sun details the behaviour-rewards system in place at the Barwon unit, which had to called into use after the infamous $1 million riot by teenage thugs at Parkville.
In his affidavit, prepared for the Supreme Court challenge, Grevillea unit general manager Robert Pemberton said he was bringing a “therapeutic approach” to managing the young inmates. This included giving their families free taxis from Lara rail station to Barwon Prison for visits.
Mr Pemberton wrote: “I see my role ... being to make the environment of the centre conducive to making each person detained a better member of the community.
“I was excited about bringing my therapeutic approach to the management of Grevillea. Underlying it is the constant question: What can we do better to help the clients become productive members of the community?”
When the teens were moved to Grevillea, Premier Daniel Andrews called them “the worst of the worst”.
The affidavit gives a detailed account of life inside Grevillea which includes Xbox games console nights and weekend cooking programs.
The best-behaved get to stay up an hour later than the other teens in the silver and bronze categories.
This is on top of the standard prison facilities and activities which include a basketball court, weight machines, table tennis table and a large TV screen that can be used for movie nights.
The affidavit also details their daily menu which consists of cereal, toast and spreads and a fruit drink for breakfast; salad, meat and/or bread for lunch; a “substantial” hot meal for dinner and supper of fruit juice, a piece of fruit and a muesli bar.
The well-fed teens can also scoff a toastie midmorning, and fruit and yoghurt throughout the day.
The affidavit says “clients” demoted for potentially thuggish behaviour have a chance to appeal, with at least one reinstated to the gold status after complaining to senior prison management.
Despite the court’s ruling that keeping the youths in an adult prison was unlawful, Mr Pemberton’s affidavit sheds light on how separate the facility really was.
There was no vantage point from which a youth could see into the adult prisoner areas.
And one section of their unit was left empty in case clients could “hear adult prisoners” from 20m away across several concrete walls.
Their families can visit from 10am to 2pm seven days a week, and access taxi vouchers from Lara train station to the unit if they cannot drive.
Mr Pemberton said the “clients” that followed dress codes, went to school, cleaned their rooms and participated in programs were able to progress to the gold standard of behaviour.
Silver was for youths who did most of their schoolwork, respected rules and did not participate in dangerous activities — “including smoking”.
Those on bronze disregarded all the rules and were likely to be placed on management plans to improve their behaviour.
The promoting positive behaviour program has been lauded as being based on international best practice.
But Opposition youth affairs spokeswoman Georgie Crozier slammed it as sending the “wrong message” to young criminals.
“No wonder violent young offenders are out of control when Daniel Andrews’ idea of discipline is to reward them with pizzas, video games and pocket money,” Ms Crozier said.
The state government’s executive director of youth justice operations, Jodie Henderson, has told a parliamentary inquiry the program was showing “positive signs” and could be rolled out to Malmsbury and Parkville youth prisons.
She said there were also individual behaviour management plans for the clients that were particularly troublesome, separate to the gold, silver and bronze tiers.
Ms Henderson said if any behaviour was criminal it was referred to police, but internally “we would look at a range of consequences that help that young person to account for his behaviours”.
A Department of Justice and Regulation spokeswoman said the new model was more consistent in its approach and would draw on national and international evidence.
Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos said the system the Labor government inherited was broken and was being changed. She pointed the finger at the previous government, last in power in 2014.
“On my instructions, we are implementing a new policy that puts an end to spending on takeaway food,” Ms Mikakos said.
“The previous government’s behaviour management model that used takeaway food has failed — we’re putting an end to it.”
WHERE IS CARE FOR VICTIMS?
A MAN whose wife is lucky to be alive after rampaging teens smashed into her car has slammed the rewards for young thugs as “ridiculous”.
Robert Ozzimo said allowing violent inmates to play the bloody shooting game Halo was no way to reform them.
“It’s just common sense that they shouldn’t be playing games like that,” he said.
“The rewards need to be appropriate, and consider the history of the perpetrator.”
The Ozzimos’ world was thrown into turmoil in February when a stolen car smashed into Tania’s Mercedes as she drove in Greensborough.
She survived the terrifying ordeal — but the family were left appalled to hear that the 16-year-old boy allegedly behind the wheel had walked free from court on bail more than a dozen times before that.
Mr Ozzimo said he supported the idea of a prison reward system, including non-violent inducements such as later bedtimes, as he hoped it would help teen offenders learn positive behaviour.
But it needed to be properly monitored, he said.
“The government is putting too much effort into the welfare of the offenders rather than the welfare of the general public,” Mr Ozzimo said.
HAVE YOU BEEN A VICTIM OF YOUTH CRIME IN VICTORIA? Share your experiences by emailing: andrea.hamblin@news.com.au or on Twitter: @AndieHamblin