A teenage boy was unlawfully locked in his cell for up to a day at a time at Perth's troubled Banksia Hill Detention Centre, the Western Australian Supreme Court has ruled.
Prompting calls for more appropriately trained officers, Justice Paul Tottle found the boy's treatment was not authorised under the Young Offenders Act despite the facility's problems with inadequate staffing.
Justice Tottle described such confinement as severe and said it could result in considerable harm.
"Confining children to their sleeping quarters in a detention centre for long hours, thus effectively confining them in isolation, can only be characterised as an extraordinary measure - one that should only be implemented in rare or exceptional circumstances," he said.
"Among the many reasons why it should be so characterised is because of the very significant harm such confinement can do to children in detention, many of whom are already psychologically vulnerable."
In a case brought by the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia, the court found the boy had unlawfully spent 20 hours or more of each day locked in his cell on more than 25 separate occasions between January and July this year.
He was aged 14 when first detained but turned 15 while on remand.
The ALSWA said it had repeatedly raised serious concerns over the legality of the lockdowns at the youth detention centre with the Corrective Services Minister Bill Johnstone and the Department of Justice.
Chief executive Dennis Eggington said after seeing no improvement it had no choice but to seek a declaration by the court.
"The conditions at Banksia Hill breach international human rights standards and amount to unlawful solitary confinement," he said.
"These children deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, not locked in a cell all day with only 10 minutes out or none at all.
"They need fresh air, human connection, education and adults to mentor them. If they are provided with these basic things, they will not act out."
In his judgment, Justice Tottle said he accepted his ruling might cause practical problems, especially in light of the chronic staff shortages at the detention centre.
He said it was a matter that would "weigh heavily" but so too would the harm that might be caused to detainees by confining them to their sleeping quarters on a regular basis for long hours.
"That harm may affect the lives of the detainees for years to come," he said.
Mr Eggington said the answer was for the department to urgently employ suitable staff on secondment from other areas and partner with Aboriginal and other community organisations to provide mentors for the young detainees to make a positive difference in their lives.
The ALSWA is also acting for more than 20 other children who have submitted individual complaints about the lockdowns, lack of mental health services, education and recreation over the past six months.
