Children have been kept in isolation for more than 70 days in Queensland’s Cleveland detention centre, report finds

Some children at the Cleveland youth detention centre in Townsville have been locked in solitary confinement or isolation due to staff shortages, a new report says. Photograph: Scott Radford-Chisholm/The Guardian

Children held at north Queensland’s troubled Cleveland youth detention centre have been placed in isolation for more than 70 days straight, and held overnight in tiny concrete rooms with no running water or toilet, a new report has found.

The state’s Inspector of Detention Services has handed the state government its latest report, which focuses on the use of “separation” – locking children in solitary confinement or isolation – due to staffing shortages.