Damning report on NT juvenile detention

A DAMNING review of the Northern Territory juvenile detention system reveals that staff training is grossly inadequate and that they have been operating in a "climate of daily crisis".

THE government commissioned the report after a number of high-profile break-outs and riots in the facility, peaking in August when the dog squad was called in and tear gas was used on one boy.

Reviewer Michael Vita found that was "justifiable".He found there was a lack of training for staff across the board, with an unco-ordinated case management system, "non-existent, outdated and inadequate" detention centre procedures, and a lack of consistency and direction in managing adolescents often suffering from trauma, fetal alcohol syndrome, ADHD and mental health problems.Staff were only trained for four days, compared with 11 weeks for adult prison officers, and 30 weeks for their NSW counterparts, which Mr Vita said was "grossly inadequate", especially considering youths are much more complex, immature and impulsive."I have no doubt that the lack of appropriate training has contributed to poor decision making during recent incidents," he said.In the five years to September 2014, there were nine escapes, seven attempted escapes, six alleged detainee-on-staff assaults, seven alleged staff-on-detainee assaults, four riots or disturbances, six instances of damaging government property, and four cases of detainees climbing up onto the facilities' roofs.Mr Vita said staff were too reliant on confining troublemakers, and said in some cases detainees' basic rights were withheld for an inappropriate period of time, which did not help with behaviour management.He found that no programs currently provided would be sufficiently intensive to change the behaviours of the highest risk offenders.Corrections Minister John Elferink said the review was "not a clean bill of health", and was commissioned in October to specifically examine how the department could improve.All 16 recommendations would be taken on, he said, and staff retraining would begin "as soon as possible".It will be extended to an eight-week regime from March.

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Damning report on NT juvenile detention

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