'Disgust' at site choices for youth detention facilities

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By ERWIN CHLANDA
 
The Aboriginal Peak Organisations (APO) are expressing “anger and disgust” at the NT Government’s decision to place the Alice Springs and now the Darwin juvenile detention centre adjacent to the adult prisons, some 30 km out of town and without public transport.
 
APO spokesperson John Paterson says the government is ignore Royal Commission recommendations: “It’s becoming clear that the government isn’t interested in genuine reform and certainly isn’t interested in consulting or engaging with us.
 
“The message this decision sends to youth detainees is chillingly clear – you can look forward to a future path into the adult prison system.
 
“Forget the focus on prevention and breaking the cycles, and on a therapeutic, public health approach that the Royal Commission recommended.”
 
Mr Paterson says the absence of public transport “will prevent families from visiting their children—again against the Royal Commission’s findings”.
 
The adult prison in Alice Springs has a bus service run by volunteers from the Prisoners Fellowship, but not the “juvie” next door.
 
Mr Paterson says: “We also advocated for the development of a number of secure residential options in regional locations along with Darwin and Alice Springs, rather than two large facilities in Darwin and Alice.
 
“These should be located within the community and facilitate therapeutic and rehabilitative care of young people to support their reintegration into community.
 
“This decision also occurs against the backdrop of the establishment of a formal COAG Partnership Agreement and a Joint Council on Closing the Gap with a national Coalition of Indigenous Peak organisations, seeking fundamental change in the way governments work with our people.
 
“The government’s action undermines that aspiration but is sadly emblematic of top-down, expedient government decision-making that is central to the failure of Closing the Gap policies.
 
“APO NT strongly urges the NT Government to pause and reconsider its decision.”
 
John Paterson 
Aboriginal Peak Organisations
 
 
 

2 COMMENTS

  1. Come on now APO who will be compensating the neighbours of these locations if they are built in residential areas?
    Because having that built next door is going to halve the value of your house and invite a noisy and hostile environment.
    Having multiple locations for these kids to be at would cost a fortune to staff and make safe at each location.
    All in one place is cost effective when the government already has no money.
    I would guess it’s getting placed next door to a prison so that if anything goes down, trained professionals can come across and assist so that the under-trained admin staff aren’t being used like security guards.
    Maybe if parents or family didn’t want to have to pay for a way out to these places they might pay more attention to their responsibilities and basic human nature of raising your children.

  2. 100% James, although I doubt the guards from the adult jail would want to assist following the disgusting way they were treated by the Royal Commission.

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