AUSTRALIA

The reform of Victoria's youth detention centres is long overdue.

Last month, County Court judge Peter Gebhardt called for a judicial inquiry into what he memorably described as the "decomposing body" of the state's juvenile justice system. Judge Gebhardt was responding to the brutal experiences of Damien Bird, who suffers from Asperger's syndrome, at the hands of his fellow inmates at the Malmsbury Juvenile Justice Centre. It is unfortunate that it has taken a case such as Bird's to draw attention to the conditions of those youths who are held in detention.

The State Government, however, should be well aware that the system is in desperate need of reform. Since 2000 three internal inquiries have been held into Victoria's juvenile justice centres. The first two inquiries - one into Malmsbury and one into the Melbourne Juvenile Justice Centre in Parkville - were undertaken in 2000 and 2001 by consultant Graeme Baird. The State Government responded to his reports of drug smuggling in Malmsbury and high levels of staff stress at both centres by offering public assurances that improvements would be made. But a third inquiry, undertaken by former senior Victoria Police deputy commissioner Bob Falconer and released in November, found the problems were continuing apace. His inquiry was mostly concerned with temporary leave programs, but he also found that reports of aggressive behaviour and of the possession of illicit drugs and syringes in the centres had risen alarmingly.

This suggests a system in disarray, with dismal consequences for young people such as Damien Bird who find themselves trapped in it. But while a judicial inquiry has the potential to uncover where and how the administration of juvenile justice is going wrong, what is also needed is a sense of urgency and zeal to fix the well-documented problems that already exist. Alastair Nicholson, a former chief justice of the Family Court, wrote last month that juvenile justice should be viewed in a larger context: what is leading young people to offend, what are the conditions in which they live and can the state help improve their circumstances?
The review of the child protection system and the appointment of Victoria's first Child Safety Commissioner are steps in the right direction, but more needs to be done. The problems being experienced in youth detention centres have not arisen in a vacuum - they are the logical and sorry consequence of years of state neglect.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/Editorial/A-plea-for-better-juvenile-justice/2005/06/05/1117910189037.html?oneclick=true

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