Riot erupts at the Banksia Hill juvenile detention centre near Perth

A riot broke out at a notorious juvenile detention center, with armed youths climbing to the roof of the building and hurling projectiles at authorities below.

About six detainees were involved in the incident at Banksia Hill Children’s Detention Center in Canning Vale, near Perth.

The maximum security facility houses male and female inmates ages 10 to 17.

Video footage shows the building’s tin roof being ripped off, items being thrown and a fire extinguisher being sprayed.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman told the media Correctional Service officers responded to an incident involving a group of teenagers in Banksia Hill.

“Officers are working to resolve the situation safely,” a spokesman said.

Correctional Services Minister Paul Papalia told the media that violent and destructive behavior is unacceptable.

“This demonstrates the challenge facing our youth probation officers and reaffirms the need for a purpose-designed facility to house the state’s most at-risk youth, as our government announced last week,” he said.

The WA government has announced it will provide $147 million to build a new youth detention facility in Perth to replace Unit 18, which houses youth detainees at Casuarina Prison, a maximum adult facility near Perth.

Banksia Hill has been the scene of several riots since 2013, causing millions of dollars in damage and giving rise to Unit 18.

Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas told ABC Perth the riot was a result of the government’s chronic mismanagement of youth detention.

“They failed these children. They failed the inmates, and they failed the men and women who were supposed to care for them,” he said.

“The fact that this will take over half a decade to deliver shows how little priority they have placed on this issue.”