An officer at WA's Banksia Hill juvenile detention centre has been seriously injured after rocks and debris were allegedly hurled at him by a detainee, triggering the government to consider moving inmates to adult jails after they turn 18.
Premier Mark McGowan said a group of seven detainees had been out of their cells on Monday afternoon "undertaking some sort of recreation or other activities", before allegedly climbing up fences and onto the roof of a building at Banksia Hill.
"They then started ripping pieces of masonry and metal off of the facilities and throwing it at the youth custodial officers," he said.
"The youth custodial officers, who are great people, who are just trying to help these young people get themselves back on track, called what's called the Special Operations Group, which is the rapid response team to assist in managing the situation.
"But sadly one of the pieces of masonry they were throwing struck a youth custodial officer and has potentially fractured his or her skull."
The Department of Justice confirmed the incident in a statement, saying a total of four officers were injured.
Mr McGowan said the most seriously injured officer had undergone surgery and that assistance was being provided to their family.
"I'm appalled by this behaviour — I'm shocked and appalled and angry that these people seem to think it's their entitlement to get out there and climb on rooves and burn things down and throw things at people when the reason they're in Banksia Hill is because that's the way they were acting outside," he said.
Mr McGowan said the government would review whether teenagers in juvenile detention should be moved to adult facilities when they turn 18.
He said one of the teenagers in the group was over 18, but not whether they were the one who had allegedly thrown the debris.
The premier also pointed to a riot that broke out at the prison on New Year's Eve, which also involved some detainees at least 18 years of age.
"The reason they were over 18 is because they go into youth detention at the age of 16 or 17, their sentence might be four or five years, so they stay in to the conclusion of their sentence," he said.
"Now we're going to have a very close look at those 18-year-olds, once they turn 18, heading off to an adult prison because they're adults and they're in there leading juveniles astray.
"If you're going to climb on the roof as an adult and throw things at youth custodial officers well then you can go to adult prison in my view, but we'll have a look at how to make that happen and how to ensure that adults are treated like adults."
"You can vote, you can go to war, you can go to a pub. You're an adult. So in my view if you're an adult you should go to adult prison.
"But we'll have a look at how to make that happen and what laws need to change."
'Sick of the excuse making'
In explaining the situation, the Premier hit out at a group of unnamed people who "keep making excuses for this behaviour".
"If you're going to go into detention and climb on the roof, somehow get up fences … well then that's on you. That's not the government's fault, that's on you," he said.
"I'm sick of the excuse making that goes on and on and on by some people out there who always say it's the government's fault."
Liberal Leader Libby Mettam has blamed "dysfunction" within the government's corrections portfolio for part of the problem at Banksia Hill.
"Our heart goes out to the prison guard who was attacked in this horrific offence," she said.
"What is clear is there is chaos in Banksia Hill and simply moving prisoners to the adult prison will not address the broader issue.
"The minister quite clearly needs to step down from the portfolio but for some reason the premier continues to protect the minister for corrections."
Call for better resources at Banksia Hill
Stephen Monterosso studies juvenile justice issues at Curtin University's law school, and said he understood the government's intent.
"I know the public is sick and tired of juvenile offenders causing mayhem and that's fair enough, so am I," he said.
"But we really are trying to prevent them escalating to adult offending, so it won't work for everyone, but if we can save some – because remember juveniles [can be saved] – then I think that's something we should look at."
Dr Monterosso said while it was not good to hear older detainees encouraging poor behaviour among their younger peers, he believed a properly-resourced Banksia Hill was overall the better choice.
"Research has shown that if we expose juvenile offenders to adult prisons, the outcomes are going to be worse and it's simply not a good environment," he said.
"Exposure to that level of criminality … is not a good thing for juveniles we're trying to rehabilitate.
"We shouldn't really lose sight of the fact that they're going to get out … so if they're going to be released we'd like to think they'll come out better than they went in, and this is perhaps not the best way of doing it."
The Department of Justice said as of Monday, there were 17 detainees aged 18 or older at Banksia Hill and Unit 18 detention centres.
"Under the Young Offenders Act, the criteria for a court to consider the transfer of a detainee to an adult prison includes them having turned 18 with a substantial period to serve and/or if they pose a risk to the safety and welfare of other people at the detention centre," a spokesperson said.
Union says incident should be 'final straw'
In a statement, CPSU/CSA secretary Rikki Hendon said yesterday's incident was "unnecessary and avoidable".
The CPSU/CSA represents youth custodial officers at Banksia Hill.
"We are frustrated that we continue to have a failure to commit to safety, even despite the alarmingly high rates of assault at Banksia Hill," she said.
"We will continue engaging in dialogue with the government but this failure, after a decade of failures, should now be the final straw.
"The government must urgently and decisively act to ensure a youth justice system in Western Australia that embeds the safety of staff and young people into its culture."
In a statement Daniel Morrison and Glenda Kickett, who co-chair the Social Reinvestment WA coalition, said the incident was shocking and did not need to happen.
"Clearly the youth justice system is not working for anyone – for the workers, the children, the community or the courts. We need to do things differently," they said.
"We will continue advocating for government to fulfil its duty of care for the systems and facilities it is responsible for, especially when it can lead to the prevention of incidents like this one."
