Justice for Juvenile Offenders
My experience as a probation and parole officer during my formative years served me well last week in Parliament. I have experienced, on a first-hand basis, the trials and tribulations faced by and also caused by young offenders. I have an intimate understanding of the inherent difficulties faced by the government in treating young offenders. Interestingly enough, I hold the record for being the youngest probation and parole officer ever appointed in Victoria. My experience at the “coalface” of dealing with juvenile offenders has placed me in a prime position to assess and provide advice on a piece of legislation put before the Legislative Council on the last parliamentary sitting day of this year.
This legislation is the Juvenile Offenders Legislation Amendment Bill. The stated purpose of this legislation is to amend three Acts, the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987, the Children (Detention Centres) Act 1987 and the Crimes (Administration of Centres) Act 1999. The objective of these amendments is principally to facilitate the transfer of juveniles currently serving their sentences in detention centres to correctional centres. The underpinnings for this legislation are recent problems highlighted by events surfacing at the Kariong Juvenile Justice Centre.
Kariong has been in the papers in recent months for a number of reasons. You may recall the media reporting about a number of elderly persons entering Kariong looking for a café, asking for a cup of coffee and being led to an area where juvenile offenders were being detained. This led to widespread concern as to the appropriate levels of security and workplace management exercised at Kariong.
In another incident, a rapist was caught on camera involved in a sex act with his girlfriend in a visitor’s room while children were in the same room. Many, shocked by the apparent freedom and lack of security conditions surrounding the detainees, made comments about this outrageous incident.
Reports have also been made relating to situations where detainees have physically and verbally abused staff. In one case, one member of staff was punched in the nose resulting in him having a broken nose. He was asked to apologise to the juvenile offender who had broken his nose. I question the values being taught by the centre management to this detainee.
Media reports also made clear that detainees were receiving favourable treatment, highlighted by the fact that detainees could order pizza on call, Xbox games and had free use of a swimming pool. Is it not reprehensible to reward wrongdoers in light of their wrongdoing?
The Government responded to these incidents by requiring General Purpose Standing Committee No. 3 to inquire into and report on evidence submitted by youth workers and staff relating to their experiences at Kariong.
Though rehabilitation ought to be a primary consideration in treating detainees, the emphasis on rehabilitation should not outweigh the use of discipline in correcting negative and disrespectful behaviour. As a Christian, I have always sought with diligence the wisdom and instruction offered by the Bible. On the Kariong issue, it is evident that Psalm 23 verse 4 is of use: it says that the Lord’s “rod and staff” comforts us. The rod is symbolic of discipline and the staff is representative of guidance and perhaps rehabilitation. You cannot have one without the other and it would seem that in Kariong not enough emphasis has been placed on discipline. The detainees have been “rewarded” through perks offered at Kariong and the evidence suggests that the management and facilities at Kariong have, to some degree, bred a group of spoilt and disrespectful citizens. The current management practices at Kariong do no service to these young offenders and actually instil values opposite to the ones to be desired in responsible citizens.
My observations as a probation and parole officer and my discussions with persons versed in dealing with juvenile offenders have left an indelible impression in my mind, that is, that the adult prison model is the best option for juvenile offenders who are too old and too violent for the juvenile justice system. The way in which our current sentencing system operates places older and more sophisticated offenders within a system primarily designed for children.
In the best interests of children originally targeted by the juvenile justice model and in the best interests of older “young” offenders i.e. offenders verging on 18 years and over, I proposed, in the parliamentary debate on the bill, that there should be a purpose-built separate gaol for young adults aged 18 to 24. In the middle 1990s, Parklea correctional centre was established for that purpose, but it seems to have not been persisted with exclusively for that purpose. It seems quite clear that a specific correctional centre, based on the adult prison model and managed by a team composed of persons from the Department of Correctional Services and Department of Juvenile Justice, ought to be created for those who are too old for juvenile justice centres are at the same time too young to enter the general prison population. I have been endeavouring to convince governments for a long time that it is wrong in principle and improper management to detain young adults in the same facility as children.
On the parliamentary front, I have supported some aspects of the bill concerned but in my parliamentary debate, I moved an amendment that the Bill, as passed by the House, be referred to a select committee for inquiry and report. I have pressed the fact that the committee examine the following matters:
(a) the reasons for, and the consequences of, the transfer of management responsibility for the Kariong Juvenile Justice Centre from the Department of Juvenile Justice to the Department of Corrective Services including the impact on staff at Kariong and Baxter detention centres,
(b) whether the transition of Kariong Juvenile Justice Centre into a juvenile correctional centre operated by the Department of Corrective Services is the most effective method of addressing management problems at that centre,
(c) the issue of adult detainees sentenced as juvenile offenders at Kariong and elsewhere in the juvenile detention centre system,
(d) the classification system and appropriateness of placements for detainees,
(e) alternatives to the establishment of a juvenile correctional centre,
(f) the wider implications of incarcerating juveniles in correctional centres, and management of staff bustled issues in the juvenile justice system.
I intend to chair this Committee. Though the Kariong bill was passed on the last day of parliamentary sitting, it will be referred to the committee I have proposed. I will let you know about developments in this area in the coming year.
THIS IS GORDON MOYES.
