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A group of about six youths scaled the roof of the Banksia Hill Detention Centre on Monday afternoon, throwing bricks, poles and fire extinguishers as authorities scrambled to bring them down.
The incident, which began at the Canning Vale building about 2.30pm, renewed opposition criticism over WA’s juvenile justice system, following the news last week that the controversial Unit 18 wing at Casuarina Prison would remain open for another three years while the government built a new $147 million replacement alongside Banksia Hill.
Youths on the roof of Banksia Hill on Monday afternoon.Credit: 9News Perth
“We needed a new youth rehabilitation centre yesterday,” opposition corrective services spokesman Adam Hort said in response to Monday’s incident.
“Detention is critical for community safety and turning young lives around, but it only works when the system works, and right now it doesn’t.
“Instead, the government has delayed this vital project for years. We are now seeing the same behaviours that caused the tens of millions of dollars in damage at Banksia Hill in 2022 and led to the creation of Unit 18.”
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Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia said the “violent and disruptive behaviour” at Banksia Hill was “unacceptable”.
“It shows the challenging task confronted by our youth custodial officers and reaffirms the need for a purpose-designed facility to house the state’s most high-risk youth, as announced by our government last week,” he said in a statement on Monday afternoon.
Prison officers in riot gear watched from the ground as the youths released fire extinguishers and damaged air-conditioning units at the detention centre, which caters to offenders aged 10 to 17 years old.
A Department of Justice spokesperson said: “Corrective Services officers are responding to an incident at Banksia Hill Detention Centre involving a group of young people. Officers are working to resolve the situation safely.”
Last week, Papalia unveiled the government’s plan to build a new youth detention facility to house the state’s most troubled and complex youth detainees.
Prison officers in riot gear watch from the ground as youths climb the roof of Banksia Hill on Monday.Credit: 9News Perth
Papalia revealed the tender would be released next week, but it was likely the proposed centre wouldn’t be ready until 2028 and Unit 18 would remain open until the new facility is complete.
The state converted the men’s wing Unit 18 at Casuarina into a youth detention facility in 2022 to remove disruptive young detainees from the Banksia Hill Detention Centre, but it has been plagued with issues since then.
It hit a crisis point when 16-year-old Cleveland Dodd self-harmed in his cell and died a week later – the first child to die in youth detention in WA.
Dodd’s death prompted calls for the facility to close, which the Cook government has agreed to do, but Papalia said it was not possible until the new facility opened.
“Until then, Unit 18 is the best place we have for them, and it’s regrettable that it’s not purpose-designed, but it is the best place we have for them,” he said.
“When it is able to be closed, we will close it, and that will be when we have this purpose-designed facility available.”
The design of the facility comes two years after the Cook government first announced it would build a Unit 18 replacement.
The new facility will have about 30 beds. The state has been working on designs since November last year, with detainees consulted in the design.
with Hamish Hastie
Lifeline 13 11 14. For 24/7 crisis support run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, contact 13YARN (13 92 76).
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