Youth facility ‘improved’ despite rooftop stand-off
A youth detention center where a small group of “dangerous” detainees climbed onto the roof and were armed during a 17-hour standoff with authorities has improved greatly in recent years, a government minister has said.
The incident ended on Tuesday when the last of six teenagers aged 12 to 17 walked out of Banksia Hill Detention Center in Perth’s south.
“They are well known at the Banksia Hill detention facility. They have all been there before and many of them have very serious criminal records,” Western Australia’s Correctional Services Minister Paul Papalia told reporters.
“On the face of it, this is just destructive, dangerous, evil behavior by a small group of people.”
Three of the teenagers were moved to the youth wing, called Unit 18, at a high-security adult prison.
Evaluations of the remaining youth are ongoing and some are expected to be transferred to prison.
“The incident was resolved safely, no one was injured and there was no superficial damage to the building,” Mr. Papalia said.
Facility staff will have to answer to the minister for tactical failures, including one detainee arming himself with a guard shield.
“This is a school building and there are things like phones and television antennas and pieces of metal that they could use as weapons, and I think you saw one of them grab the fire extinguisher,” Mr. Papalia said.
Banksia Hill was the site of a riot in May 2023, when 47 prisoners held off authorities for more than 12 hours, started fires and climbed onto the roof to throw items at staff and police.
Armed police ended the riot after the fires lit in the accommodation blocks caused serious damage.
Mr Papalia said Banksia Hill had improved since the riot, when staff shortages often led to detainees being locked in their cells for long periods.
Detainees are now kept out of their cells for nine or more hours a day, and training for staff has increased, including education about fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
“We also have an Aboriginal support unit on site that wasn’t there a few years ago,” he said.
WA’s Children and Young People’s Commissioner Jacqueline McGowan-Jones said security measures at the facility needed to be improved.
“I was pleased to see that the situation was resolved peacefully by youth custody officers at Banksia Hill in a way that did not re-traumatise the children involved,” he said.
He said improvements had been made at Banksia Hill in recent years and the focus now needed to be on relational security to reduce tensions and provide a safe environment rather than physical security.
Youth justice advocate Gerry Georgatos said detainees went to the roof because they were not getting the care they needed at Banksia Hill.
“There are no resources on the horizon to give these kids hope when they come out, and many of them become frustrated while they are inside and fear the outside where they will resent them again,” he said.
Opposition corrections services spokesman Adam Hort described the incident as worrying and said Banksia Hill was not providing detainees with the rehabilitation, support and security they needed.
There are currently eight detainees in Units 18 and 70 at Banksia Hill.
