A prominent Kimberley Indigenous leader has revealed that a young relative, who was put in isolation at Banksia Hill Detention Centre after a self-harm attempt, spoke of witnessing assaults at the facility and was not offered support after their release.
It comes amid mounting pressure on the WA government to address issues at its only youth detention centre in Perth after it was revealed inmates had been subjected to a restraint technique that can cause suffocation.
In response, Premier Mark McGowan has called a "crisis summit" with government officials, experts and representatives from the Telethon Kids Institute, to discuss how to fix the youth justice system.
Many of the children sent to Banksia Hill are from the Kimberley, where youth crime rates have spiked in the past two years, triggering Operation Regional Shield which aims to curb what many see as a crisis in the region.
Self-harm, assaults at Banksia Hill
But a relative of one young person from the Kimberley detained at Banksia Hill, who the ABC cannot name for legal reasons, said an 18-month stint in the facility had changed the 14-year-old.
"He's certainly not the same young man that walked in that door," said the relative, a prominent Kimberley Indigenous community leader.
"If he had problems communicating how he was feeling before, he certainly does now."
The relative said the boy was put in isolation at the facility after a self-harm attempt.
"There were attempts to hurt himself and he was put down into these other wings, and isolation units and just left there," the relative, who visited the teenager while he was at the centre, said.
"You know, I can't imagine what that's like for someone who's in a good state of mind, let alone someone who's attempting to take their life."
The teenager wouldn't speak of his own experiences but had talked of other children in the facility being treated poorly, the relative said.
"He talked about people being slammed on the ground and being assaulted and things like that in front of him.
"We've got some information about his time in there now and what I realised about those stories that he told me was that he probably experienced the exact same things."
No support for kids or families
According to the relative, no plans were provided to assist the boy after he was first released from the facility.
"You don't hear from the workers or caseworkers that are working with him in justice until he's just about to be released — there was no plan put in place," they said.
"Basically he was just dropped off and then everybody wants him to report and do all these things, but there are no supports to help him."
The relative said his family took responsibility for repairing key relationships in the young person's life, but the support they needed wasn't offered or available.
"If we don't change what we [the family] are doing, that possibly is contributing to him running away and doing whatever he is doing, then how's anything going to change," the relative said.
"So when we reach out for help, there's nothing and I think that for a long time, people have said, 'Where are these kids' bloody parents?'
"But you know what? The parents need help as well."
The relative said the state government must be held accountable for the treatment of detainees in Banksia and the lack of support services available to them.
"They should be held accountable for handing out all of this money, millions and millions of dollars on diversionary programs that are just not working," they said.
"Youth involvement [in criminal behaviour] is getting higher and higher, and the incarceration rates are getting higher and higher — nothing's changing."
Kimberley struggling, but national plan needed
Bunuba woman and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, June Oscar AO, said she had been in contact with Kimberley kids who passed through Banksia and experienced "frightening" conditions.
"It's trauma for the rest of their lives that we're talking about," she said.
"Look at the distance of being so far from home — it's the adjustment into the life of how you cope in a detention facility that is staffed by people you don't know, and not necessarily Aboriginal."
There were better alternatives to Banksia Hill, but there had not been enough support or community engagement to design and implement them, Ms Oscar said.
"We're dealing with traumatised children here, who have a whole raft of need for support, to enable them to be the best that they can be, and their families are struggling," she said.
"We can do better, we must do better, and there are some wonderful models that are out there that are empowering, that are far more therapeutic, far more humane in the treatment of children.
"And yet we're not investing in the preventative base. We're spending billions of dollars of taxpayers' money to ensure an outdated, punitive system still continues in this state."
Ms Oscar said there had not been enough support for communities in the Kimberley who needed it and the state government should fix that.
"I think we need to seriously look at how we support families better in the care of their children," Ms Oscar said.
"I know there's families living in absolute poverty, that aren't able to access the support required in the Kimberley.
"We need to engage with communities and this government is in the best position to engage with the community seriously, and to invest the resources into a whole-of-state initiative and not to continue behaving as they are."
While Ms Oscar said she would support an inquiry into the youth justice system in Western Australia, similar issues were occurring across the country.
"What is really needed, in my view, is a national action plan to tackle the issues in youth justice across all jurisdictions, because we're seeing very similar, horrific treatment of children, in facilities in other states and territories."
Department outlines general procedures at Banksia
In response to questions the Department of Justice (DoJ) spoke generally about the processes at Banksia Hill Detention Centre and post-incarceration practices.
In instances of self-harm at the facility an inmate is moved to an environment "that ensures their physical safety" where access to ligature points are restricted, the spokesperson said.
"The young person is monitored and never left unattended under any circumstances," the Department of Justice spokesperson said, speaking in general terms.
"While placement may necessitate time in a cell, they are engaged with support services, recreation, exercise and education where it is safe to do so."
The spokesperson said inmates who attempted suicide in the facility were placed "on an at-risk management system" for review by a mental health professional.
"High-level continuous monitoring ensures the young person is within line of sight or close proximity of a staff member at all times and engaged in regular positive interactions," the spokesperson said.
When a detainee is released to freedom, rather than on bail or on a community-based or supervision order, "there is no legal remit for continued engagement with DoJ", the spokesperson said.
"Where there have been or continue to be self-harm/suicide concerns, parents and caregivers are informed both verbally and in writing to be in early contact with a GP," they said.
In instances where a young offender is released on bail, the DoJ spokesperson said, interventions are short term focusing on "stabilising accommodation placements and behaviours".
"Young people who are sentenced from custody to a community-based order or released on a supervised release order have an allocated Youth Justice Officer who provides comprehensive individualised case management addressing all matters relevant to that particular young person," they said.
The spokesperson said where further support is required for families the case is referred to the Department of Communities.
