Kariong Juvenile Detention Centre
Kariong is a formidable and oppressive institution architecturally. This paper examines and suggests this is a facade for the regime that operates within. Allegations of institutionalised racism, brutalisation, systematic human rights abuses, mismanagement and inappropriate staff practices began to seep out at the beginning of 1999. The allegations were however not new. While it hit the news and a media frenzy followed a series of riots in March and April 1999, there is a history of this type of abuse at Kariong which has operated behind security fences for the last eight to nine years.
The general public knew little about Kariong until these recent events. Most people would not realise that the Department of Juvenile Justice confines children in a high security maximum goal which, some say, is comparable to Katingal or Jika Jika, adult goals, considered so inhumane that eventually they were closed.
In 1993 two 17 year olds were found in separate rooms attempting to hang themselves by their shoelaces. (i) The Editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald on 7 January 1993, commenting on the attempted hangings, referred to at least four other attempts, suggesting there may be other attempts that never became public. Inappropriate staff practices were identified by the NSW Ombudsman's in its 1996 Inquiry into Juvenile Detention Centres.
 WHO IS AT KARIONG?
The Juvenile Justice system in NSW can incarcerate young people, under the age of 18 years, who commit offences. These young offenders are imprisoned in juvenile detention centres. There are currently seven centres in NSW. (ii) In total the Centres detain up to approximately 400 children; all but one, Yasmar in Ashfield, Sydney, are for males.
The governance of Juvenile Justices Centres is set out in the Children's (Detention Centre) Act and Regulations 1987. (iii)
The Regulations sets out two types of classification for detainees within juvenile justice centres. Classification "A", those detainees who, in the opinion of the Director General, are potentially dangerous and who should be detained within a secure barrier at all times, and "B", all other detainees.
The young men held at Kariong range from 16 to 21 years old. Detainees over 18 are able to remain in Juvenile Justice if they have committed a serious offence while less than 18 years old, and the sentencing Judge recommended they serve their sentence in Juvenile Justice (iv). The young men at Kariong are considered to be the most serious offenders within the Juvenile Justice system. Kariong inmates are classified "A" and are on remand awaiting Court or serving sentences for murder, armed robberies, sexual assaults, escape or attempted escape. They also include those young men the Department of Juvenile Justice deem to have misbehaved in a manner which poses a serious management problem within a Juvenile Justice Centre. Some classification "A" detainees are at Kariong while some are held at Minda.
It is thought that a number of the detainees' classifications at the time of the riots were questionable.
THE RIOTS
According to a large number of the detainees at Kariong on the 11 March 1999 after a sustained period of agitation and tension between staff and inmates, a 16 year old inmate was assaulted by staff. These staff members, some with shields, charged him and beat him to the ground. He was then punched in the head and body. He was then taken to isolation were he remained for 29 hours. Inmates were so outraged by the assault of their fellow inmate that they commenced smashing the wing. Staff left the wing. Another wing in the Centre erupted, property was smashed, a mattress was set alight and cells were flooded. No staff were physically injured during these incidents. The Police were called but played no part in the events. The situation was finally ended with the assistance of two detainees from another wing. A detainee then attempted suicide. Staff received counselling. The unrest went on for many days between the 11 March 1999 and the 18 April 1999, and included a roof top protest by the detainees.
Inmates spoken to the day after the first incident said the riots were sparked by the assault of the 16 year old, and fuelled by anger at the general level of staff violence directed towards them over a prolonged period.
They also expressed frustration about the lack of facilities and services for Aboriginal inmates, and for those who did not attend school. The detainees spoke about their frustrations regarding treatment, conditions, racial vilification and disrespectful attitudes of staff.
Detainees were then locked down in their cells (three by four metres) for extended periods of up to six days. They were allowed out for very limited periods, the average being 15 minutes, the longest time being 40 minutes per day. To get out of their cells some inmates resorted to self harm or setting their cells alight.
THE POLITICAL RESPONSE
As a result of the unrest the then Minister for Juvenile Justice, Faye Lo Po, acted on advice from the Department of Juvenile Justice and requested a Department of Corrective Services Management Team go into Kariong. It is unclear and unlikely that these workers have any experience in dealing with young people. They remained at Kariong for several months.
Immediately after the State election in March a new Minister, Ms Carmel Tebbutt was appointed. When a further incident occurred the new Minister ordered an increase in security, referred to as "Improvements at Kariong Juvenile Justice Centre" (v) These improvements included better security fencing to prevent access to roof areas, expanded use of closed circuit television to monitor detainees' movements in corridors and recreation areas, new procedures for random searches of detainees rooms. Ms Tebbutt said: "Kariong is a high security centre, and I'm determined it is seen as such."
No effort has been made by the new Minister to improve the conditions which caused the riot in the first place, despite independent evidence of the triggers to the violence.
TRANSFERS TO ADULT JAILS
Just prior to this series of riots, Kariong held approximately 32 prisoners, approximately half of whom were Aboriginal. By the end of April 1999 there were 21. Many of the young men were transferred to adult prison; some were over 18 years old, however, four were under 18 years - one was just 16 years old. They were held in isolation units (soft cells) at Parklea Prison, separate from the main goal population. Three of them were Aboriginal.
The transfer of these young men was as a result of, amongst other considerations, an ultimatum by workers at Kariong. They stated that further industrial action would follow if certain detainees were not relocated. The Public Sector Association supported staff on this. In addition, some Aboriginal inmates wanted to be transferred to adult gaols because then, at least, there would be some Aboriginal programs and they held a belief that it couldn't be worse than Kariong. Some, pleaded to leave Kariong for prison.
After several weeks the Children's Court ordered the 16 year-old back to juvenile custody.
The decision of the previous Minister to transfer these young men can only be viewed as a cynical one. Ssome of the factors taken into account in deciding the transfers were irrelevant and outside the Minister's power.
BREACHES OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES
The Director General of Juvenile Justice recently chaired the Australasian Juvenile Justice Administrators' working party into establishing national standards for detention centres. A report setting out standards, formulated with reference to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Administration of Juvenile Justice and Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, was released. (vi)
Basic entitlements are not being met, and Kariongs' does not comply with these standards. In fact none of the Juvenile Justice Centres in NSW comply with this document.
At the height of the unrest, the Many Rivers Aboriginal Legal Service documented 32 breaches of International Human Rights Treaties. These have been referred to HREOC; some include excessive use of isolation, allegations of assaults by workers on detainees, arbitrary and unfair use of the points discipline system, lack of Aboriginal programs, insufficient school places, and restrictive movement throughout the Centre.
STAFF
In July 1996, Kariong employed 57 workers, 44% of the youth workers were employed on casual contract 23% of non-casual staff were on temporary contracts. (vii) Only one of these workers was Aboriginal, while 36% of inmates were Aboriginal. (viii) It is unclear what the staff statistics were at the time of the unrest, but the situation regarding Aboriginal staff remains a constant problem across the whole Department and it is doubtful that the situation at Kariong has improved since 1996.
As at June 1998, the staff within the Department was 909, and only 61 of these people were Aboriginal. (ix)
The 1996 NSW Ombudsman's inquiry into Juvenile Detention Centres received a large number of complaints alleging powerful cliques controlling Centres, with nepotism and cronyism rife in employment practices at some Centres. Some workers at Kariong allege this is still the case, and it remains to be seen whether the Department will address this issue.
Women workers at Kariong complained to the Director General in October 1998, that some of their male colleagues engaged in sexual harassment, death threats and stalking, and of being left unsupported during incidents. Several are now making workers compensation claims.
In 1996, the Ombudsman said, "The Department investigate as a matter of urgency, allegations of harassment of women workers in all detention centres, with priority to be given to the situations at Riverina, Minda, Worimi and Kariong". The Evidence suggests that the Department did not remedy this situation at Kariong and this needs to be made clear in the next report of the Ombudsman. Recently the Department commissioned external consultants (x) to conduct an inquiry into the sexual harassment claims by women workers; a report has been prepared and makes broad recommendations to improve the current situation, but the report does not really expand on the 1996 Ombudsman recommendations.
PREVIOUS INQUIRIES
In July 1995 the Minister for Community Services, Hon Ron Dwyer approached the Ombudsman with concerns about the operations of detention centres. He was especially concerned with complaints and information received by him suggesting certain practices and management systems in centres might be so inadequate as to constitute maladministration. The NSW Ombudsman agreed to undertake a formal independent inquiry under section 13 of the Ombudsman Act 1974. In December 1996 the Ombudsman released its report containing 239 recommendations.
"The Inquiry found many shortcomings with the current operation of juvenile detention centres which impact negatively on the dignity and rights of detainees, in some cases seriously so". (xi)
The 1996 Ombudsman's Report, while giving good overall coverage to all detention centres, failed to probe deeply into the systemic issues facing the Department.
It is interesting to note that Kariong, though not attracting huge attention in the report, was, 21/2 years later, the most troubled fraught centre. The Department's implementation of the recommendations has been excruciatingly slow or non existent. The Report recommended Minda Detention Centre be closed as soon as possible. Two and half years later the Department is finally about to comply with the recommendation. It is due to close when the new Centres at Grafton and Dubbo open in late 1999.
The Ombudsman during the inquiry appointed architects to provide expert assistance. In relation to Kariong they made a number of observations and suggested changes as follows:
- Perimeter security is extreme, yet detainees are not allowed to commute freely.
- The only 'soft' landscape is adjacent to the staff area.
- The environment is harsh.
- While the detainees are alleged to be the most intractable in the system, the Centre architecturally would not contribute to the rehabilitation of these detainees, and
- The Juvenile System is lagging behind current 'Best Practice" principles for the humane containment of offenders. (xii)
The Ombudsman recommended the Department review the security needs of the escorting and supervision practices within Kariong with a view towards enabling the general population greater freedom of movement within the confines of the centre if possible. (xiii) This recommendation has never been implemented. Carmel Tebbutt's response to the recent disturbances was to increase the oppressive physical conditions and supervision regimes.
1999 OMBUDSMAN INQUIRY
During the disturbances at Kariong the NSW Ombudsman announced an inquiry into the following:
The management of detainees at Kariong, particularly during February and March 1999, including but not limited to:
- the disturbances on 11, 21 and 23 March and 18 April;
- events leading up to and following these disturbances;
- the placement of the young person mentioned earlier in this article in confine-ment on the 11 March 1999;
- response to and management of detainees exhibiting self harming behaviour;
- allegations of racist and discriminatory conduct towards Aboriginal detainees and the Departments response to these, and
- activities, programs and services provided to detainees
In June of 1999 an interim provisional report was prepared by the Ombudsman. This report was provided to the Minister and a small number of key individuals. It has not been provided to the original complainant (a detainee) or his solicitors. The report, according to the NSW Ombudsman, is not a public document, and the Ombudsman is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. An FOI request to the Department for the Report has been declined.
No date has been given by the Ombudsman as to when the final report is due but the Ombudsman has stated that a formal report is not expected to be completed for some months.
Problems continue to exist at Kariong despite the current Ombudsman's inquiry, in late August an inmate is said to have doused himself in a flammable liquid, after being forcefully taken to isolation and having his clothing cut off. The staff realised he had a razor in his mouth and a lighter secreted on his person. He was then left in isolation for six hours. Questions regarding this incident must be asked, in particular how a young person in maximum security can obtain such items.
Community and Legal groups' (xiv) have called for the closure of Kariong since the first riot. At the very least, it should be closed during the Ombudsman's Inquiry, and protection should be given to detainees who make complaints. In addition, an urgent review of all the detainees classifications is required.
Minister Tebbutt's response to a continual stream of questions in Parliament is that the Ombudsman is investigating, and that when the report is received she will be looking closely at what reforms are needed. However, the Minister recently proposed legislative changes to enable transfers of over 18 year olds, who commit detention centre offences to adult custody to be done with greater ease and for them to serve the rest of their juvenile sentence within adult gaols. These proposed changes are based on guarantees given by the Minister to staff at Kariong, during the riots, in order to avoid further industrial unrest. It is disappointing that guarantees regarding children's safety whilst in the Ministers care have not been forthcoming.
The community is not confident that the Ombudsman's report will uncover the systemic issues at Kariong. Given the Department's track record with complying with the Ombudsman recommendations the outlook is not positive. A call for a full judicial inquiry into Detention Centres. The issues are complex and systemic and the riots were really an eruption of unhappiness after years of mismanagement by the Department.
An article in the Daily Telegraph concluded its story with this: "The Government has a duty of care with these young offenders regardless of the nature of their crimes. It also has an obligation to the community to ensure that prisons for juveniles are efficiently managed corrective institutions with a goal of rehabilitation. In this case, it would appear it has failed on both counts." (xv)
References
i. Sydney Morning Herald, 7/1/93
ii. Mount Penang and Kariong at Gosford, Minda at Lidcombe, Cobham at St Marys, Worimi at Newcastle, Riverina, Keelong near Wollongong, Reiby in Airds and Yasmar (for girls) in Ashfield. Two new Centres are to be opened before the end of the year based at Grafton and Dubbo.
iii. Children (Detention Centres) Regulations (Regulation 6)
iv. section 19 Children's (Detention Centre) Act 1987
v. Media Release dated 27 April 1999.
vi. Australasian Juvenile Justice Administrators, Standards for Juvenile Custodial Facilities, March 1999
vii. NSW Ombudsman Report 1996, p 586
viii. NSW Ombudsman Report 1996, p 77
ix. Department of Juvenile Justice, Annual Report 97-98
x. Sherlock and Sheir
xi. NSW Ombudsman Report 1996, p iv
xii. Perumal Partners PTY LTD Glebe NSW, extract taken from the NSW Ombudsman Report 1996, p 156
xiii. NSW Ombudsman Report 1996, Recommendation 12.11. p 163
xiv. Including Youth Justice Coalition, Community Legal Centres, Legal Aid, Justice Action, Aboriginal Legal Services.
xv. The Daily Telegraph, April 21 1999, Look into Kariong carry-ons
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Qld, August 1999
"It is totally unethical and immoral, it directly discriminates and disadvantages NSW prisoners in their entitlement to education and legal needs, computers are part of our modern society, why should prisoners be denied proper access to computers," stated Ian MacDougall from the APU. In further developments the APU has written to the Olympics Minister Michael Knight seeking intervention due to the potential source of embarrassment it is likely to cause to Australia in the lead up to the Olympic games.