Teens languish on remand as lawyers shut out from Don Dale due to appointment time blowout

Lawyers and even Territory Families staff are experiencing lengthy delays in getting access to children in Don Dale, leaving them languishing on remand and compromising public safety.

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LAWYERS and even Territory Families staff are experiencing lengthy delays in getting access to children in Don Dale, leaving them languishing on remand and compromising public safety.

North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency managing solicitor for crime, Beth Wild, said the time it took to get an appointment had blown out from a 24-hour turnaround last year to up to two weeks.

Ms Wild said the blowout meant some kids were forced to stay locked up for that length of time before a judge was even in a position to decide whether they should be granted bail.

“It used to be same day turnaround in the kids court for supervised bail (assessments),” she said.

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“In the adult court it takes less time than it does in the youth court, whereas it used to be the other way around.

“The issue from the community safety point of view is that getting together a comprehensive bail plan that addresses all the risk factors is further complicated by the delays in seeing the young person.”

Ms Wild said while the lack of access to lawyers and Territory Families staff meant youths were in Don Dale for longer, the same delays applied to service providers meaning they also had less access to therapeutic interventions during that time.

“We’re not saying people are being uncooperative but it’s an issue that does need to be addressed and it might be that appropriate staffing and additional appropriate interview rooms are provided,” she said.

“They just need to make things fit for purpose there, having regard to the fact that it’s really not fit for purpose, it never was.”

A spokeswoman for Territory Families said legal practitioners were “requested to book visits in advance to ensure visits are allocated in a timely manner”.

She said up to 14 visits could be scheduled each day and Territory Families had recently extended visiting hours for professionals into “later in the evening”, while detainees could also be pulled out of school for meetings with their lawyer.

“Additionally, weekends are available for professional visits,” she said.

“At any time there is an urgent requirement to meet with a young person, legal practitioners and Territory Families, Housing and Communities staff can always contact the Superintendent to request an urgent visit.”

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But Ms Wild said while it was acknowledged Don Dale staff were doing their best to facilitate access, without more resources the situation was unlikely to change.

“As far as we can tell, the problem is twofold, it’s interview spaces and the second is staffing,” she said.

“They’re trying to have a special legal and Territory Families visiting day but without the rooms and additional staffing that’s not going to address the delays.”

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