Don Dale detention centre: Riot police respond to incident
POLICE dressed in riot gear have responded to a major disturbance at Darwin’s controversial Don Dale youth detention centre.
National
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POLICE have been called to a major incident involving inmates at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in Darwin.
At least 15 police cars, including tactical response vehicles, responded to the incident on Tuesday night.
A Territory Families department spokeswoman said the “disturbance” at the centre started at 6.45pm.
“The police have been called and are currently assisting to resolve the situation,” the department said in a statement.
The centre received national attention in 2016 when the ABC aired a report showing camera footage of the abuse of youths, including Aboriginal teen Dylan Voller in a restraint chair wearing a spit hood, prompting a royal commission into juvenile detention in the Northern Territory.
Don Dale has continued to be the subject of negative publicity this year, with four boys accused of starting fires at the centre in July and injuries to prison guards in May.
An offender who stabbed a man in the neck was released on bail recently after a judge heard the male youth had been held for 52 days and under lockdown for 15 hours at a time amid understaffing and no community programs.
The NT government has committed $70 million for two new detention centres in Darwin and Alice Springs as part of $229.6 million over the next five years to overhaul the child protection and youth justice systems and implement the recommendations of the royal commission.
More than a dozen police, fire and ambulance vehicles were outside the centre, Sky News reported.
Police wearing camouflage gear entered the centre and loud shouting could be heard from inside the facility.
The controversial Don Dale facility came under scrutiny during the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory.
Originally published as Don Dale detention centre: Riot police respond to incident
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