Six detainees at Darwin’s new $130 million youth justice centre have vandalised seven bedrooms less than a week after moving into the facility, with the government estimating the damage bill at almost $200,000.
Late on Friday afternoon Corrections Minister Gerard Maley announced he had been informed earlier that day that the youths, aged between 13 and 17, had damaged the rooms during a 30 minute window between routine checks.
“Damage includes smashed wash basins, metal intercom panels torn from bedroom walls and metal plate light and power sockets ripped from walls, leaving live wires exposed,” he said in a statement.
“These rooms are now inoperable while urgent repairs are undertaken.”
Mr Maley said police were investigating the incident and he had asked his department to conduct a “thorough review” of policies, procedures and staff training as well as an assessment of equipment and infrastructure to determine if upgrades were needed.
“Youth detainees can have significant behavioural problems, creating a challenging and at times, dangerous, work environment for youth justice staff,” he said.
Youth detainees moved into the new facility this week making way for adult male prisoners at the old Don Dale detention centre, formerly Berrimah Prison. (ABC News: Jayden O’Neill)
“Our government values and supports the dedicated men and women who have chosen careers focused on helping to rehabilitate these young people.”
Mr Maley announced last week the new centre would be opened “as a matter of urgency” as the Country Liberal Party government prepared to move adult prisoners into the old Don Dale youth justice centre at Berrimah.
At the time, Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) regional secretary David Villegas told the ABC youth justice officers were already concerned about overcrowding at the new centre in Holtze before it had even begun accepting detainees.
“The CPSU has called for immediate action from NT Corrections to tackle our members’ concerns about safe staffing levels and the risk of overcrowding in detention centres,” he said in a statement.
“We will continue to raise these matters with NT Corrections until they are adequately addressed.”
The disturbance also comes after the NT government announced it would relocate youth detainees from Alice Springs to the new Darwin facility as part of an “emergency response” to ongoing overcrowding issues across the prison system.
Women prisoners were then due to move into the 48-bed Alice Springs youth detention centre, which was re-opened by the previous Labor government in February following a $32 million redevelopment.