Juvenile justice
‘They failed this boy’: Prisons watchdog lashes WA government over Unit 18 death
Inspector of Custodial Services Eamon Ryan warned care needed to be improved for the other youth detainees in the unit at Perth’s maximum-security adult men’s prison.
- by Hamish Hastie
Latest
Opinion
Banksia Hill
The uninterrupted failure of Banksia Hill – and what WA should do about it
We need respectable bedrooms for our neediest children, not grotesque stir-crazy jail cells, or we risk the next generation being even worse off than the current.
- by Gerry Georgatos
Indigenous teen Cleveland Dodd was ‘let down’: Roger Cook
Premier Roger Cook said Corrective Services did not have enough resources. “We’re hamstrung by infrastructure. We’re hamstrung by availability of staff,” he said following the tragic death of the teenager in custody.
- by Aaron Bunch
Impaired and detained teen spent days in 24-hour confinement
A judge has taken a swipe at Queensland government agencies for their management of an intellectually disabled Indigenous boy.
- by Zach Hope
Teenage prisoner rushed to hospital after incident at notorious WA juvenile prison
The Aboriginal prisoner has been rushed to hospital after he was found unconscious last night in the Unit 18 youth wing of Casuarina Prison.
- by Daile Cross, Heather McNeill and Hamish Hastie
Perspective
Government
Hard cell: The more Queensland spends, the worse crime gets
When senior state government officials gathered to announce up to $250 million for a new fast-tracked temporary youth prison last week, key figures remained unsaid.
- by Matt Dennien
Qld to splash up to $250m on third children’s prison to fix capacity
The site will be built near existing detention centres to address nation-leading capacity pressures. But it’s been called a “Band-Aid solution”.
- by Matt Dennien
‘You’ve known about staffing problems’: Disability royal commission lashes Banksia Hill excuses
Then-premier Mark McGowan took a hardline stance against detainees involved in riots at the facility. A scathing assessment in a royal commission report will increase pressure for a softer approach.
- by Hamish Hastie
Perspective
Crime
The (not so) quiet plan to fix youth prison pressure with police cells
As the government gears up to carve off a new south-east Queensland police station as temporary youth detention, a 2019 promise takes on new weight.
- by Matt Dennien
Victims of crime to join new high-level Queensland advisory group
The group is the state government’s initial response to calls from protesters last month amid debate on how to tackle crime.
- by Matt Dennien
Police blitz on Sydney teen car gangs after spate of crashes
Gangs of teenagers are breaking into houses, taking car keys and selling the stolen vehicles. A police strike force has been given special resources to target the thieves.
- by Jordan Baker and Perry Duffin