A senior Don Dale worker confirmed kids locked down for 23 hours a day in ‘intensive lockdowns’

Don Dale official records show Territory children were locked down for 23 hours a day, with staff ‘doing their best’ to manage self harm reports, threats of violence, and kids protesting long hours in their cells.

A regime of ‘intensive lockdowns’ where children were kept in cells for up to 23 hours a day led to a Don Dale teenager lashing out with a cup of milk and spit, a court has heard.

A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, refused to go into his cell during rolling lockdowns at the Territory detention centre and allegedly threw a paper cup of milk with spit in it at a worker on October 31, 2021.

CCTV of the incident appears to show the 16-year-old and three other boys also protesting the lockdown were grounded within seconds by 11 Youth Justice Officers (YJOs) using the ‘last resort’ Maybo physical restraint techniques.

The teenager has told the court he was restrained by three officers face down on the floor, with one standing on the back of his neck as they tried to put him in handcuffs.

The same CCTV also appears to show another young boy in a headlock, while another was held to the ground by his neck as a different YJO forced his body down.

A 16-year-old boy is allegedly restrained face down by Youth Justice Officers during an incident on October 31 2021 at Don Dale Youth Detention Center.

The now 18-year-old has pleaded not guilty to three counts of assault, making threats and being engaged in violent conduct.

His lawyer Clancy Dane has argued the teen was acting in self defence given the alleged unlawful or non-compliant actions of the Don Dale workers.

The Youth Justice Act said force can only be used against a child if all other practical measures have been attempted, there is a clear warning and time for the kid to react to the warning, and “no more force than the person considers to be necessary and reasonable”.

Last week a senior Don Dale worker, who also cannot be named for legal reasons, said after reviewing the CCTV there was “room for improvement” over the actions and use of force by his YJOs.

“There were things that could have been done better,” he told Judge Greg McDonald on Tuesday.

The senior Don Dale worker, who was not in his role at the time, agreed with Mr Dane there was a “fairly intensive rolling lockdown’” for the boys on H-Block — the facility’s highest security wing.

Youth Justice Officers appear to hold a boy in a headlock during an incident on October 31 2021 at Don Dale Youth Detention Center.

The Don Dale worker said managing the children’s activities with staffing levels was a constant “balancing act”, but said lockdowns were never imposed unless there was a clear operational requirement.

“(Staff) are doing their best during very difficult circumstances, I would say,” he said.

The official Block Journal Entries said the day before the incident the 16-year-old and other boys were locked in their cells alone for about 23 hours.

Mr Dane said those same records on October 31 showed the 16-year-old was being “unlocked, and locked down, unlocked and locked down”, and was outside his cell for a total of three hours before the alleged assault.

Yet, the senior Don Dale worker wrote in his statutory declaration there were zero hours of lockdown that day.

On Tuesday he agreed that the official block entries were inconsistent with his official report.

A teenage boy is allegedly held down by the throat by a youth justice officers during an incident on October 31 2021 at Don Dale Youth Detention Center. Picture: Supplied

When Mr Dane asked the witness: “Do you think lockdowns make the experience of children in Don Dale more difficult?”.

“I don’t know. I’ve never been a person in detention,” he replied.

The block entries showed the day before — during the 23 hour lockdown — YJOs were responding to kids weeping for their mothers, threatening staff, refusing medication, while a different group of boys also tried to lock themselves inside the recreation room.

The court also heard multiple boys reported thoughts of self-harm, including one boy who reported “seeing a strange figure in his room last night telling him to kill himself”.

The worker said three out of the 39 kids in Don Dale were classed as ‘at risk’ for self harm, and only three days earlier the 16-year-old himself was among the children kept on self harm watch.

The senior Don Dale worker said the children’s education schedule, after school and weekend activities — which are required under the Act — had been disrupted by lockdowns in H-Block.

Multiple Youth Justice Officers allegedly restraining a teenage boy during an incident on October 31 2021 at Don Dale Youth Detention Center.

He agreed that while his statutory declaration said these programs were “scheduled” for the day of the incident, there was no evidence that they occurred.

“He’s got a program schedule, the reality was very different,” Mr Dane said.

“Going off the documents in front of us, it appears none of the programs were attended.”

The teenager has previously admitted to the court that he threw the paper cup and tried to swing at another YJO, and while he was “angry and screaming” he may have accidentally spat on a female officer.

But the 16-year-old has denied he threatened to “bash” “stab” and “shoot” the YJOs.

Judge Greg McDonald adjourned the matter to September 14 for submissions.

Originally published as A senior Don Dale worker confirmed kids locked down for 23 hours a day in ‘intensive lockdowns’