The amount of time young detainees spent in isolation within Victoria’s youth justice system has halved in the past year, although the use of the practice remains a concern to advocates.
Detainees in youth justice facilities were placed in isolation 5,412 times for security reasons between January and March – down from 10,330 recorded in the first three months of 2021. Covid-related placement in isolation occurred 1,816 times, and behavioural concerns resulted in 284 placements.
The figures were provided to Victorian parliament’s public accounts and estimates committee last month. The committee was told that, during the same period last year, young people were placed into isolation 825 times due to Covid-19 and 319 for behavioural reasons.
Department officials told the committee that youth justice staffing levels had “never been more consistent” but, like many workforces, had also been affected by Covid-19.
In an answer to a question on notice, the Department of Justice confirmed the longest time spent in isolation at the Parkville Youth Justice facility so far this financial year was 11 hours, while at Malmsbury Youth Justice it was 10 hours and 45 minutes.
This falls short of the United Nations’ definition of solitary confinement, which is the isolation of a person in a cell for 22 hours or more a day without meaningful human contact.
The department also confirmed that so far this year, no young people at either facility were involved in a serious assault or riotous behaviour during a security-based isolation, and none required hospitalisation or medical treatment.
Youth justice minister, Natalie Hutchins, credited the 47% decrease in security-based and behaviour-related isolations to an increase in frontline staff and additional training, among other initiatives.
The use of isolation in Victoria is regulated by the Children, Youth and Families Act and involves placing a child or a young person in a locked room, separate from others and away from the normal routine of the centre.
Isolation can be used to prevent a young person harming themselves or others, or from damaging property. It can also be used if deemed to be in the interests of the security of the centre.
Isolating a young person as a form of punishment is expressly prohibited.
Liana Buchanan, Victoria’s principal commissioner for children and young people, investigated the use of isolation in youth justice facilities in 2016 and found that, in many instances, young people were confined for extended periods in their rooms because of staff shortages.
Buchanan said the commission continues to hear from children and young people in youth justice who report being placed in isolation or in lockdowns, in which whole units are locked in their rooms for operational reasons.
Buchanan said prolonged isolation can interfere with access to education, recreation and visits, and lead to increased frustration and aggression – particularly for those with mental illness or who have experienced trauma or abuse.
“Excessive use of isolation or indeed frequent use of isolation is only ever going to compound some of what has brought young people into the system in the first place,” she said.
She said there was “no magic solution” to the issues in youth justice, but urged the government to continue to invest in staff from multiple disciplines.
Monique Hurley, the senior lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said isolation can have “dangerous impacts on young people’s mental health and wellbeing”.
“Isolating children as young as 10 in tiny prison cells for hours on end, with virtually no contact with other human beings, is cruel and harmful,” she said.
“Too often, children are isolated in lieu of adequate healthcare and other support services to address the underlying causes of so-called ‘challenging’ behaviours that are better provided in the community, with the support of family.”
She urged the government to reduce the number of children being pipelined into prisons and to outlaw solitary confinement, as defined by the UN.
“Children in Victoria remain at risk of being subjected to the practice because no laws prevent it. Premier Andrews should consign solitary confinement to the history books by banning the practice in law today,” Hurley said.
