State's youth justice centre 'disgraceful'

A SENIOR Victorian minister is under pressure to resign after the Ombudsman found a state juvenile justice centre breached human rights.

A SENIOR Victorian minister is under pressure to resign after the Ombudsman found a state juvenile justice centre breached human rights.

Ombudsman George Brouwer delivered a scathing assessment of the Parkville Youth Justice Precinct that revealed it was riddled with infectious diseases such as scabies, overcrowded, had "disgraceful" physical conditions and incidents of staff brutality.

The investigation -- prompted by a whistleblower -- found the Department of Human Services had failed to meet its legal and human rights obligations and the appalling state of the facility meant it should be closed and rebuilt.

Mr Brouwer questioned "the capacity of the department to operate youth justice services" and recommended it should be subject to external oversight by the corrections watchdog body.

"The dirty unhygienic and ill-maintained conditions reflect poorly on the management and staff," he wrote.

It is the latest in a series of damning reports into DHS services, including child protection, and has led to calls for state Community Services Minister Lisa Neville to resign seven weeks from an election. Mr Brouwer identified allegations of staff sleeping on the job and facilities so over-crowded that some inmates had to go to the toilet in a bucket.

"Several witnesses said staff had encouraged fights between detainees.

Inciting violence was described as means of punishing detainees who 'deserved it' or as a way to encourage detainees to resolve their issues," he wrote.

The Ombudsman described an incident where it was alleged a staff member locked a detainee in a laundry room and allowed inmates to seriously assault him to "teach him a lesson".

The inmate sustained a "severely swollen eye and fractured right eye socket" and was "spitting blood" after he woke up.

Mr Brouwer found the department's investigation into the assault was "questionable" as it did not interview key staff members.

The Ombudsman also uncovered a case where a staff member allegedly assaulted a detainee, saying: "Open your mouth, I will spit in your mouth, dog . . . if you say one word, I will kill you -- I run this place, I know people, I will get you bashed."

Mr Brouwer found a DHS investigation discovered evidence that supported the assault claim but had yet to "finalise its response" and the officer was on full pay after being stood down.

Opposition community services spokeswoman Mary Wooldridge said: "This sickening catalogue of neglect and failure reflects 11 years of Labor's inaction and incompetence."

But Ms Neville said she had already accepted and started implementing all of the Ombudsman's recommendations, committed a taskforce to look into the future of the centre and put in $16 million to upgrade the facility.