WA youth detention in spotlight as detainees scale Banksia Hill roof
A group of about six teenagers climbed onto the roof of Banksia Hill Detention Center on Monday afternoon and threw bricks, poles and fire extinguishers as authorities tried to tear them down.
The incident, which started at the Canning Vale building at about 2.30pm, renewed opposition criticism of WA’s juvenile justice system following news last week that the controversial Unit 18 wing at Casuarina Prison would remain open for another three years and that the government would build a new $147 million venue next to Banksia Hill.
Young people on the roof of Banksia Hill on Monday afternoon.Credit: 9News Perth
“We needed a new youth rehabilitation center yesterday,” opposition corrective services spokesman Adam Hort said in response to Monday’s incident.
“Detention is critical to the safety of the community and turning young people’s lives around, but it only works when the system works, it doesn’t work at the moment.
“Instead, the government has delayed this vital project for years. We are now seeing the same behavior that caused tens of millions of dollars of damage to Banksia Hill in 2022 and led to the creation of Unit 18.”
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Correctional Services Minister Paul Papalia said the “violent and destructive behavior” at Banksia Hill was “unacceptable”.
“This demonstrates the challenging task facing our youth detention officers and reaffirms the need for a purpose-designed facility to house the province’s most at-risk youth, as our government announced last week,” he said in a statement Monday afternoon.
Prison officers in riot gear watched from the ground as teenagers unleashed fire extinguishers and damaged air conditioning units at the detention center, which serves offenders ages 10 to 17.
