An RTI obtained by the Greens has revealed children were detained in adult prison watch houses more than 300 times in the last financial year. A year after the Custodial Inspector recommended against it and the Liberals committed to action, it’s completely unacceptable that children continue to be held in adult watch houses.
Young people were held in adult watch houses 306 times in the last financial year, with one child detained for 55 hours. Children as young as 12-13 were being kept in these facilities.
The stories from young people held in adult watch houses are harrowing. They speak of seeing things no child should see – adults who are drunk, high and suicidal, as well as assaults and threats. Adult watch houses are not safe places for children.
Children are often deprived of basic necessities in watch houses and confined in close quarters. It’s a deeply distressing and traumatising environment for a young person.
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has said children should not be held in adult custodial facilities, given the risk to their health and safety and Tasmania’s Interim Commissioner for Children and Young People supports this position.
The Custodial Inspector recommended more than a year ago that children stop being held in adult watch houses. The Liberal Government said they’d work on alternate options. A year later – still nothing.
At Budget Estimates, the Minister for Children and Young People was completely unaware of how many children were being held in adult watch houses, fobbing the issue off to the Minister for Corrections.
It’s not good enough. Tasmania’s children deserve urgent action, and it requires work across government.
The Liberals’ continued failure to keep Tasmanian children safe is appalling.The Liberal Government must urgently develop alternative options and stop holding children in adult watch houses.
