“Horrific” allegations made by youth detainees, of sexually inappropriate behaviour and excessive use of force by officers, being forced to sleep naked or in wet clothes, wear clothing stained in other people’s blood, and long lockdowns in “derelict conditions” were tabled in Western Australian parliament Thursday night.
The Greens MP Brad Pettitt tabled 58 letters of complaint written by the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA (ALSWA) and sent to the WA government, that he said showed young people in Banksia Hill and Casuarina prison’s Unit 18 are “enduring worse conditions than those for most farm animals in the state”.
Pettitt read extracts from some of the letters, including one from 8 February, from a young woman on remand at Banksia Hill who alleged guards hit her on the head with chairs :
“Two male [youth custodial officers] … picked up chairs and hit [the child] on the left and right sides of her head at the same time with the two chairs. She had lumps on her head as a result. She was then placed in handcuffs and her legs were folded up behind her into a ‘hog tie’ or ‘folding up’ position. She was then dragged along the floor whilst restrained,” Pettitt read.
The same young woman also alleged sexual harassment and misconduct by youth corrections officers: “During her most recent admission in [Banksia Hill], [the child] asked [officer] to open her cell door. He moaned inappropriately (sexually) at her which made her scared. If [the child] screams, [officer] will often say things such as ‘I love it when you scream’,” Pettitt read from another letter.
In a third letter, dated 21 February 2023, another young person claimed they were left naked overnight after threatening self-harm.
“[The child] threatened to hurt himself and YCOs ripped his clothes off and left him naked in the cell with a rip-proof gown, which in his distress [the child] did not put on,” Pettitt read.
“[The child] was left naked in the cell from about 2.30pm on 30 January 2023 until his visit with [his lawyer] the following morning … His mattress was covered in OC Spray and was ‘itchy’. As such, he slept in the shower and he had only a rip-proof pillow and no bedding. He was very cold all night.”
In a different letter from 22 February, the child alleged he was often in the same clothes for days without being given new ones: “In around mid-January 2023, [the child] spent two weeks in the same clothes, being denied fresh clothing by the staff.”
Pettitt said the “vast majority” of the letters have gone unanswered. He said the “massive public health crisis” at Banksia Hill youth detention centre and Unit 18 was getting worse.
“Frankly, so long as this state continues with business as usual, it is only a matter of time before there is a horrific and tragic, and completely avoidable death of a child in custody,” he told parliament.
The corrective services minister, Bill Johnston, said that allegations of unprofessional conduct within the Department of Justice should be referred to the department’s professional standards directorate.
“If anyone has any evidence of illegal actions by a youth custodial officer, it should be referred to a relevant authority such as WA police or the Corruption and Crime Commission,” Johnston said.
A Department of Justice spokesperson said that since 1 January 2023 ALSWA had raised 42 allegations of misconduct by staff at Banksia Hill and Unit 18 and “in every case, ALSWA was provided correspondence acknowledging receipt of the correspondence and the complaint raised”.
“The Department has closed 30 of those cases, finding that in 29 there were no disciplinary breaches. In one case an officer was counselled after an adverse finding.
However, 10 are under further investigation and two are being assessed, the spokesperson said.
ALSWA disputes that claim. It’s CEO, Wayne Nannup, said ALSWA has received “no substantive responses” in relation to the systemic and administrative issues, “apart from some Professional Standards correspondence relating to individual staff.
“All kids deserve to be safe and healthy. We are supposed to be rehabilitating these children, not inflicting ongoing solitary confinement on them.” Nannup said.
The WA government is facing two lawsuits in federal court over its alleged unlawful treatment of juvenile detainees at Casuarina prison.
There has also been ongoing unrest in both centres. On 10 May guards in riot gear wielding guns settled a major disturbance after dozens of detainees breached their cells and gained access to the grounds of Banksia Hill before climbing on to the roof.
The WA premier, Mark McGowan, said detainees lit fires in several accommodation blocks and caused millions of dollars worth of damage to the facility, where about 90 youths are detained.
McGowan described the incident at the time as a “form of terrorism”, adding that medical conditions such as foetal alcohol spectrum disorder were being used as “an excuse” for detainees’ actions.
On Thursday night, Pettitt said “none of us” should dismiss neurological disabilities like foetal alcohol spectrum disorder as excuses, or label “predominantly Aboriginal children as terrorists when they are enduring worse conditions than those for most farm animals in this state”.
