Advocate decries conditions of children held in Cairns watchhouse

An advocate has revealed her shock at the conditions in which children as young as 10 are being held in a Queensland adult watchhouse.

Inside the Cairns watchhouse

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Children held in Queensland watch houses are being bunked together in tiny cells with poor ventilation, no natural light, no privacy and just metres away from adult prisoners.

Queensland Council of Social Service CEO Aimee McVeigh toured the Cairns watchhouse on Friday and said it was an “absolute disgrace” children as young as 10 were being held in those conditions.

Ms McVeigh said nothing could have prepared her for the shock she felt when seeing the Cairns watchhouse in person.

“It’s a place you can’t believe exists in Australia,” she said.

“It’s constructed of besser blocks. It has poor ventilation and no natural light. There’s no fresh air, it smells, it’s dirty and it’s completely soulless.

“There’s no privacy, so in each small cell, you can have up to two children sleeping there on foam mattresses covered in plastic and then in the cell is just a steel toilet and water, all of that’s exposed.”

Ms McVeigh said children could be viewed by whoever walked past their cell and they were given no privacy to use the bathroom.

“I saw a young boy who had been in the watchhouse for over four or five days when we were there on Friday, he was lying on the cement floor of his cell,” she said.

Aimee McVeigh at Cairns watchhouse

“He was very subdued, and he was constantly exposed to the sounds of some prisoners, the prisoners that were detained in the adult cells, who are quite vocal, and those sounds reverberate all around the facility.”

Ms McVeigh said the cells were located close to adult ones which was extremely intimidating.

Queensland Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski confirmed in August there was a review into the state’s watchhouses after “systemic issues”.

The daily Persons in Queensland Police Watchhouse report showed the longest days in custody for a child in Cairns and Townsville watch house was six days.

Jordyn Anthony, 20, who was in and out of watchhouses as a teenager but has since turned his life around, said children should not be exposed to the disgusting conditions that lacked basic human needs.

Mr Anthony, now a disability support worker, said in his experience watchhouses were dark and dim.

“From my experience, I’ve never even seen a window or like an exercise yard or something where people have access to basic human needs,” he said.

“The only thing you can do is sleep and eat when they provide you with some food, and that may be like, a hot dog or sausage and a little bit of mashed potato and some carrots, and it usually comes with cold tea.”

Former youth offender Jordyn Anthony. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Mr Anthony said children shouldn’t be exposed to the conditions of watchhouses.

“There’s a fine line between putting someone somewhere for a punishment, and then there’s putting someone in an environment where they’re still too young to understand certain things,” he said.

“Their brain hasn’t fully developed, and you’re putting an undeveloped brain in a very hostile environment and then thinking that they’re not going to become a product of that environment, and that they’re going to do the opposite.

“But the reality is, these kids are too young to understand that sort of thing.”

Mr Anthony said he became a product of his dysfunctional environment while growing up.

“But to me, I always knew that’s not where I wanted to get to, there are certain other kids who will go out there and get locked up specifically just for the fact that they can say they’ve been locked up,” he said.

“I think if you took a lot of kids out of the positions they’re in, and you place them in a different position or a different environment, you wouldn’t see them in the watchhouse.”

A Queensland police spokesman said the review continued to look at current and future needs of watchhouses.

“The review team is undertaking discovery work across several key areas, such as staff

recruitment, health and safety, systems, technology needs, and processes,” he said.

“Priority is being given to those areas that will achieve the best outcome for persons in custody and watchhouse staff, to ensure the custodial activities are managed appropriately.

“As the review continues to progress, it will identify areas for further development in training, management, equipment, facilities, and co-ordination with partner agencies.”

Inside the Cairns watchhouse

Originally published as Advocate decries conditions of children held in Cairns watchhouse