The head of the Perth Children's Court has slammed the "dehumanising" detention of a teenage offender, warning that "if you want to make a monster, this is the way you do it".
WARNING: This article contains content that some readers may find distressing.
The court's president, Judge Hylton Quail, was sentencing the 15-year-old boy for a robbery and a home burglary as well as about a dozen assaults on youth custodial officers at the Banksia Hill Detention Centre.
The teenager had ended up in the facility after robbing an 82-year-old man of $2000 he had just withdrawn from the bank and later breaking into a woman's home to try steal money for clothes.
The assaults included repeatedly throwing urine at the officers, spitting in their faces, and punching and kicking them, which Judge Quail described as "vile" and "disgusting".
All but one of them happened in what's called the Intensive Supervision unit, the ISU, where the teenager has been held for 79 of the 98 days he had been in custody.
Judge Quail described the cell where the teenager was kept as "a fish bowl" and the yard where he was supposed to be allowed to exercise as a "10 x 20 metre cage".
Records provided by the facility to the court showed that on 33 days, including five over Christmas time last year, the teenager had no time out of his cell, which Judge Quail described as "solitary confinement."
The records showed the only education the teenager was provided with were "education packs" which Judge Quail said was effectively saying "here you go ... help yourself."
Assaults after self-harm threats
The court heard some of the assaults happened after the teenager threatened to self-harm.
Another happened after he ripped the pages of out a book, wet them and tried to stick them to the windows.
"That's because he lives in a fish bowl. That was the only way he could get any privacy," Judge Quail said.
He said it was clear there was a causal link between the treatment of the teenager and the majority of the attacks on the officers.
"When you want to make a monster, this is how you do it."
The judge noted that the conditions in which the teenagers were being kept were harsher than those of "confinement orders", which are supposed to be a last resort.
Those orders ensure detainees get fresh air, exercise and staff contact for 30 minutes every three hours during hours when they are not locked up – something which was not provided to the 15-year-old.
The judge stressed his comments were not a criticism of any of the staff at the facility or the superintendents.
Staff complaints fall on deaf ears
He acknowledged there were critical staff shortages, which had sometimes caused a crisis in the ISU and led to the use of excessive lockdowns.
"The staff who work in ISU, none of this is their fault. They're the ones who are working under extremely difficult conditions."
Judge Quail also noted that those in charge of the facility had tried to get the government to do something.
'No easy solutions': Premier
When asked about Judge Quail's comments today Premier Mark McGowan said the issue was complex.
"Imprisoning children is always a last resort, but it is only ever used in the most extraordinary or serious cases, but there are no easy solutions with this," he said.
While Mr McGowan accepted the judge's comments were damning, he said the public also had to be protected.
"Banksia Hill actually has in place a whole lot of different rehabilitation programs for children that are there to try get kids back on the right track.
"But there are no easy answers here. Banksia Hill is not full. It is used as a last resort for the most serious of cases."
Teen subjected to 'prolonged, systematic dehumanisation'
The court heard the 15-year-old had a severely deprived and traumatic upbringing, with Judge Quail describing him as "one of the most damaged children" to have appeared before him.
The court heard he was taken into state care at the age of eight, because of severe neglect, and he had been exposed to domestic violence and criminal behaviour, which was normalised for him.
The teenager had also been diagnosed with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, attention deficit disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder – all of which had caused developmental disabilities.
Judge Quail said while in custody, the teenager had been subjected to "prolonged, systematic dehumanisation and deprivation" which was "unjustly punitive and not rehabilitative".
"The conditions of detention have not met the minimum standards the law requires."
He said for that reason, he had decided not to impose a sentence of detention but rather a community release order, with strict conditions including being supervised.
