Disused blocks of Don Dale Detention Centre to be brought back online
Mothballed detention blocks will be refurbished to allow the youth detention centre to be “agile and robust,” ahead of new laws which will see repeat-offending kids refused bail.
Northern Territory
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MOTHBALLED blocks of the Don Dale Detention Centre will be refurbished in anticipation of an increase in children on remand.
The NT government revealed ‘non-utilised’ parts of Don Dale will be refurbished as part of a $5 million package.
Territory Families minister Kate Worden said youth detention was “an agile and robust system”.
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“The additional $5 million in facility funding will provide the opportunities for expansion within our current system to changes in configuration and decisions on where we place our young people on remand,” Ms Worden said.
“We have contingency plans for when we see a surge in numbers and equally plans for scaling down when our numbers reduce,” she said.
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Last week it was revealed the number of kids in youth detention had risen from the low 30s to 43 since the start of April, associated with a crackdown in crime in Casuarina and Karama.
New youth crime laws will see repeat offenders refused bail, which is likely to increase the numbers of children being sent into detention.
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