Teen riot at juvenile justice centre: ‘We’re going to engage in a battle’

Four teenagers went on a four-hour rampage at a juvenile justice centre where they scaled the roof, smashed the ceiling and hurled broken glass and frozen drink bottles at staff, leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage. SEE THE PICTURES

• Juvenile prisoner mistakenly dropped off at ‘crack house’
• Brekkie rage: 14-year-old inmate stabs prison guard

Four teenagers went on a four-hour rampage at a juvenile justice centre where they scaled the roof, smashed the ceiling and hurled broken glass and frozen drink bottles at staff, which could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

One of the detainees got to a telephone, where he tried to make calls to the outside as staff donned protective gear in one of the most explosive of recent riots at the centre.

Police have launched an investigation into the incident at Orana Juvenile Justice Centre follows ongoing unrest across the state’s detention system.

Some of the damage caused to the roof and wiring at the Orana Juvenile Centre during the riot.

A staff whistleblower revealed one of the teenagers warned staff as the revolt began, declaring: “We are going to engage in a battle tonight.”

The four teenagers were among nine detainees at the regional centre near Dubbo when the incident occurred on May 1.

The unrest began during the recreation period shortly after 4.30pm with detainees pulling branches off trees before scaling the roof of a building.

MORE FROM LINDA SILMALIS:

BREKKIE RAGE: 14-YEAR-OLD INMATE STABS PRISON GUARD

BEHEADING THREAT TEEN ON NATIONAL SECURITY LIST

A staffer, who declined to be named, alleged the detainees smashed the roof ventilation system, broke the pole of a TV antennae dish and damaged an airconditioning unit before attempting to break a skylight.

They then removed the skylight and climbed into the roof cavity where they began jumping until they had smashed through the ceiling plaster, the staffer alleged.

Thousands of dollars worth of damage was caused to the complex.

The airconditioning and ventilation units were also damaged.

As staff tried desperately to restrain the detainees while using shields for protection, the teenagers grabbed anything they could find to use as weapons with one hurling frozen drink bottles that he found in a fridge.

Other items launched at staff included “books, board games, broken fluoro tubes, a large sticky tape dispenser, a first aid kit and a smoke hood”, with one detainee discharging a fire extinguisher, the staffer said.

“One of the detainees made several statements, including going in to battle tonight,” the staffer said.

As the stand-off continued, the detainees re-entered the roof cavity where they smashed the ceiling plaster until the roof collapsed into a corridor, the staffer said.

It is understood the juvenile justice officers managed to lock the detainees in a room where they observed the teenagers looking in filing cabinets and attempting to make phone calls.

Staff cut the power to the building shortly before 9pm with the detainees eventually climbing down from the roof.

Staff say the riot will cost taxpayers “hundreds of thousands of dollars” and is the third major incident at Orana in the past year.

A Juvenile Justice spokesman confirmed the incident had resulted in “some damage” but declined to detail the total cost.

The spokesman said staff nor the juveniles involved were injured in the ordeal.

“The safety and wellbeing of staff is Juvenile Justice’s number one priority,” the spokespersons aid.

“Staff worked to de-escalate the situation and negotiate with the young people to come down voluntarily.

“There were no injuries to either young people or staff. The matter has been referred to police.”

Originally published as Teen riot at juvenile justice centre: ‘We’re going to engage in a battle’