Recent Budget Increase For Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre
Researched and drafted by WAJA’s Advocacy Team.
On April 18th, 2022, it was announced that the Banksia Hill juvenile detention centre will receive a $25.1 million upgrade.
$7.5 million will go towards funding a Crisis Care Unit that aims to provide a safe and therapeutic environment to support vulnerable, at-risk youth
$3.6 million will go towards staffing and Aboriginal Services Unit to provide cultural support and services to help address the over-representation of Aboriginal youth.
The increased funding into Banksia Hill comes with a range of promises that aims to address the extensive reports of mistreatment, staff shortages and insufficient services for children as young as 10 within the centre. For example, funding has been allocated towards upgrading the centre’s controversial Intensive Support Unit, in which children are put in solitary confinement for non-compliance. However, such confinement is widely recognised as inhumane. This was noted in the recent inspection report from the Office of the Inspector for Custodial Services, raising the question of why the unit continues to run at all. While this funding is certainly an encouraging step in the right direction, WAJA is calling for greater direct support for these vulnerable children, and a larger focus on funding rehabilitation services as opposed to punitive measures.
Reasons for Funding and OICS report
This upgrade is taking place 3 months after Judge Hylton Quail criticised Banksia Hill as a “dehumanising” space with insufficient services being provided to children in the centre including:
Human rights issues relating to the isolation/solitary confinement unit
Staffing shortages resulting in rehabilitation services not running at Banksia Hill Detention Centre
Mental health diagnoses, support for those with neurological impairment, and suicidal ideation of detainees (89% of youth offenders in youth detention in WA have a neurological impairment whilst 36% of youth offenders in youth detention in WA have FASD)
Last week, the Office of the Inspector for Custodial Services also tabled a report in the Western Australian Parliament on the cruel inhuman and degrading treatment of children after an inspection of the Banksia Hill facility.
Class Action
Social Justice Independents and the National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project are mounting a class-action lawsuit against the Banksia Hill facility and the WA state government for the poor conditions and mistreatment suffered by the youth.
Coordinator Gerry Georgatos says while the new funding is a small step in the right direction, more one-on-one support, particularly in the form of staff, is needed for the most vulnerable children.
Labor stance
This funding comes after a prolonged lack of action from the WA Labor Government which has previously vowed to drive improvements at Banksia Hill in both 2012 and 2017. Rather than improving the situation, the Government has allowed Banksia Hill to deteriorate to the point where human rights abuses of children in the centre are commonplace.
References
Daile Cross, "The juvenile prison where child was ‘treated like an animal’ gets funding boost", WA Today (online at 18 April 2022) <https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/the-juvenile-prison-where-child-was-treated-like-an-animal-gets-funding-boost-20220418-p5ae6y.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed>
Llifen Palacios Nunez and Anna Copeland, "Solitary Confinement within Juvenile Detention Centres in Western Australia" (2017) 25(3-4) The International Journal of Children's Rights <https://brill.com/view/journals/chil/25/3-4/article-p716_716.xml?ebody=abstract%2Fexcerpt>
Aja Styles, "WA’s treatment of children in prison is tantamount to torture, but we are the ones who should be scared?", WA Today (online at 11 February 2022) <https://amp.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/wa-s-treatment-of-children-in-prison-is-tantamount-to-torture-but-we-are-the-ones-who-should-be-scared-20220210-p59vil.html?fbclid=IwAR3vVeI--XpP_40oN9cEov30qPqLCIl_F9l-dj8TahsQqheku3qQ-4uu0M0>
Carol Bower et al, "Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and youth justice: a prevalence study among young people sentenced to detention in Western Australia" (2018) BMJ Journals <https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/2/e019605.abstract>
Paul Gregoire, "Australia: Judge declares Banksia Hill Kids Prison dehumanising, as class action mounts", Mondaq (online at 7 March 2022) <https://www.mondaq.com/australia/public-order/1168922/judge-declares-banksia-hill-kids-prison-dehumanising-as-class-action-mounts>
Andrew O'Connor, "WA election 2017: Labor vows to target 120 worst young offenders and families", ABC News (online at 3 January 2017) <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-03/wa-labor-vows-to-target-120-worst-juvenile-offenders/8158836>
Barry, Hannah and Hinako Shiraishi, "'Cruel Conditions' Revealed In Damning Report Of WA's Banksia Hill Detention Centre", ABC News (Webpage, 2022) <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-19/cruel-treatment-of-inmates-at-wa-banksia-hill-detention-centre/100998896>