NT Judge hears children kept in cells 23 hours a day in Holtze Youth Detention Centre

A teenage girl has told a court ‘I’m going to kill myself’, as kids with chronic mental health conditions are held under ‘extraordinary’ lockdowns. Warning: Distressing.

Youth Court Judge Thomasin Opie was repeatedly told that children with chronic and complex mental health issues were being exposed to almost continuous lockdowns inside Holtze Youth Detention Centre. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Territory kids with chronic mental health issues are spending up to 23 hours a day alone in a cell, amid short staffing in the childrens prison.

“I might just kill myself there,” a 15-year-old girl told her lawyer moments before her court hearing on Monday.

“I’m going to kill myself so you mob can be happy, so that the judge can be happy, so everyone can be happy.”

Youth Court Judge Thomasin Opie was told multiple children with chronic and complex mental health issues were being exposed to almost continuous lockdowns inside Holtze Youth Detention Centre.

Ms Opie heard one 15-year-old boy had spent up to 23 hours a day in his cell and was denied access even to pencils and paper.

“He has not been able to go to school on some days, and when he has, it’s only been for a couple of hours,” his lawyer Jenna McHugh said.

“On multiple occasions (he) has requested pencils and paper so he can journal his thoughts, because he has difficulty sleeping.

“He has been denied that request.”

Darwin Youth Detention Centre at Holtze. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Ms McHugh said this boredom and lack of interaction was particularly difficult for the young boy with complex mental health diagnoses, including ADHD, depression and anxiety.

The Youth Court repeatedly heard that the “extraordinary” lockdowns were a direct result of staffing shortages at the new children’s jail, with classes and programs interrupted and visits from families and their lawyers cancelled.

Last week Corrections Minister Gerard Maley was asked if he was aware of the lockdowns, and their impact on education and rehabilitation programs.

“I’m sure there are some lockdowns if there is some sort of problem, but from what I’ve seen they’re going to school to learn to become better people,” Mr Maley said.

Last week Corrections Minister Gerard Maley was asked if he was aware of the lockdowns, and their impact on education and rehabilitation programs. Picture: Zizi Averill

The chronic lockdowns have been reported to the courts for at least three weeks, with a 14-year-old boy telling Ms Opie in April that he had spent six straight days in a cell, only being let out for meals.

The NT News is aware that staffing gaps have been exacerbated by a significant spike in numbers to the Holtze children’s prison, even prior to tough new bail changes coming into effect.

The spike in children in detention and rolling lockdowns come as Danila Dilba Health Services announced it was unable to keep operating in the centre after five-years of working in the youth justice system, as “ongoing staff shortages” meant it was unable to provide “a culturally safe service”.

“We have a duty of care to our staff, and continuing to operate an understaffed service is not safe or sustainable,” DDHS said on April 24.

The DDHS announcement came just after 16 children were received into Holtze in three days during the Easter long weekend.

Corrections said that same weekend multiple children were taken to Royal Darwin Hospital after they made verbal threats of self harm.

The NT Youth Justice at risk procedures state that the first 48 hours of admission were considered a high risk period for self-harm or suicide, alongside being on remand, returning from court and after getting bad news such as being denied bail.

Following her arrest over the weekend, a 15-year-old girl was placed at risk after she told her lawyer that she would hurt herself if she was returned to Holtze.

“I don’t feel safe there … I feel uncomfortable there,” she said on Monday.

“I’ve been struggling there, singing out for help. Nobody didn’t want to help me.”

“Nobody’s helping me. “

Ms Opie heard the 15-year-old had never been before the courts and had no alleged criminal history, but due to her alleged involvement in an aggravated robbery the Yarrawonga service station, she was unable to grant her bail.

Ms Opie said she was bound by the new bail legislation — and of the 13 in-custody cases heard on Monday, only one 17-year-old boy was granted bail.

At the same time the judge frankly stated that conditions on remand were “not conducive to rehabilitation”.

“It is not conducive to good mental health for anyone to be left alone for 23 hours out of 24 with nothing to do,” she said.

“And it’s certainly not conducive to good health for young people with diagnoses that are serious.”

Australian Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds voiced her concerns about the scale of lockdowns inside the Holtze centre even before the Territory rushed through controversial bail laws. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Australian Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds voiced her concerns about the scale of lockdowns inside the Holtze centre even before the Territory rushed through controversial bail laws.

Ms Hollonds said while tough bail laws could appear to have a short term impact on crime rates, in the long term it had the opposite effect on public safety.

“It’s a criminogenic environment that we are knowingly exposing these children to, children with these pre-existing conditions, the disabilities, the mental health issues, the trauma,” she said.

“We’re kicking the can down the road … instead of addressing the unmet needs of these children and helping them to grow up better, so that they can be functional members of society — we’re locking them up.”

“The rest of the community will inevitably suffer in the long run.”