A meeting to address concerns with WA's youth justice system has been described as a "good start" by some of those involved.
The meeting was called after a week of intense pressure on the government, with a range of eminent figures, including a former Children's Court President and the Telethon Kids Institute decrying conditions in juvenile detention.
Premier Mark McGowan announced plans for the gathering the day after a Four Corners program laid bare conditions inside Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre, including the use of a "folding up" technique, which the government has since said it will review.
Attendees included Professor Fiona Stanley, Aboriginal Advisory Council WA co-chair Gail Beck, Police Commissioner Col Blanch, the Director-General of the Department of Justice and the state's Commissioner of Corrective Services, Mike Reynolds.
Leaving the more than 90-minute-long meeting, Commissioner for Children and Young People Jacqueline McGowan-Jones was optimistic.
"I think it was a good start," she said.
"[There] was genuine intent around listening to what we think are the opportunities for change.
"The process needs to be followed up, so hopefully that's not one of these long, drawn-out examples where we don't get an immediate result.
"But I think a lot of these issues don't have an immediate answer, they are about long-term change.
"The Premier told me he took 21 pages of notes so clearly he was listening to us all."
Mr McGowan described it as a productive meeting, but stressed the need to manage public safety.
"The government has to balance a few things. There's the interests of the juveniles and their rehabilitation," he said.
"But it's also protecting the public — and protecting the public is important.
"We will continue to make sure we do everything we can to protect the public.
"It's always a balance, you can do both at once."
He said the government has put several projects in motion, including a revised juvenile justice act, additional training for staff and a new on-country facility in the Kimberley.
'They need our help'
Commissioner Ms McGowan-Jones said she wanted to see a trauma-informed model of care implemented as soon as possible.
"If you don't have a frame of reference or you've been a victim it's hard to have an understanding that these children and young people are damaged," she said.
"They need our help, they don't need incarceration.
"They need to have the therapeutic, mental health and cognitive supports to that we can transition them to a better life and not a return to custody."
Corrective Services Minister Bill Johnston said last week a business case for the model was being prepared, and that the aim was for it to be implemented by the end of the year.
No plans for future meeting
The Commissioner for Children and Young People also advocated more should be done to stop children from ending up in detention.
"We understand we need options [to deal] with children who are breaking the law and have serious criminal offences," she said.
"But what we need to do is reform this so that our kids get the supports and services they need long before they end up in criminal pathways," Ms McGowan-Jones said.
While there were not yet plans for a further meeting, Ms McGowan-Jones said she hoped the government would continue listening through community consultation.
She also advocated for raising the age of criminal responsibility.
The Premier had ruled out increasing it to 14 but said the state would participate in a national consideration to raise it to 12.
"I would hope that we can go along more quickly than that," Ms McGowan-Jones said.
Royal commission rejected
The opposition, as well as former Children's Court President Denis Reynolds, have called for an inquiry, or a royal commission, into WA's juvenile justice system.
But Mr McGowan said "overwhelmingly, almost unanimously, no one wanted a further inquiry".
"That's going to take too long, so why would we do that?" was the view of Aboriginal Advisory Council WA chair Gail Beck.
"We want solutions now and it's going to come, we've just got to work together," she said.
Mr McGowan also said there were no calls to close Banksia Hill, but a strong consensus that staff needed to continue to be appropriately trained.
Communication 'greatly improved'
Corrective Services Minister Bill Johnston said the meeting was an important opportunity to engage with various groups.
"Most of the issues that they raised, the government has already made commitments on, but it's important for us to continue engaging with the community to understand what people's expectations are," he said.
"One of the things that I found interesting was that many of the people at the meeting this morning weren't aware of a number of the [solutions] that the government is already implementing.
"So I think that the communication has been greatly improved and it's important for us to listen to these community leaders."
