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