‘Juvie’ justice officers are not faint-hearted, but they’re terrified of going to work – SMH 22/07/2019
In February, I wrote in these pages that violence in the state’s juvenile justice system had hit catastrophic levels. Juvenile justice officers had just walked off the job statewide in frustration. They did so again last month.
These are not faint-hearted people. They know they signed up for a tough job. So when they tell me they’re terrified of going to work, I know they mean it.
On Sunday night, 30 juvenile offenders took control of the Frank Baxter Correctional Centre on NSW’s Central Coast.
On this occasion our members escaped without physical harm because the leaders of the riot had decided to target sex offenders within the centre. Two detainees were airlifted to hospital with serious injuries.
It has been described as a “sudden and unprovoked attack”, which is a misleading because it suggests unpredictable spontaneity. The only thing surprising about this situation is it didn’t happen sooner. Because the system is set up in a way which makes it impossible to control violence.
For more than three years, the Public Service Association has been begging the government for units which allow the worst of the worst to be separated. In adult prisons, the capacity to separate is a core principle of maintaining order. In juvenile justice, we chuck everyone together.
Families and Communities Services Minister Gareth Ward can get the government to work in four critical areas. One, we need therapeutic units now to separate dangerous troublemakers from the general population. The government finally agreed to the units in March, but is yet to act. The infrastructure exists within the centres to do this today.
Three, we need to fund the services that help keep kids out of the juvenile justice system. Virtually all of these services, from child protection to public housing to legal aid have had their funding slashed in recent years.
Fourth, we need a judicial inquiry into the juvenile justice system in which nothing is off the table. The association would use this inquiry to advocate for legislative change which empowers juvenile justice officers to respond and manage extremely violent offenders.
On Sunday, the officers acted on their training and retreated to call the police. That can’t be the answer. Our members are not demanding weapons or a blank cheque for brute force, but they do need to be able to foreshadow and enforce consequences for those who are violent.
Most of us feel uneasy with the idea of young people being locked up. We should. It’s an awful necessity that we should always strive to avoid.
But we are kidding ourselves if we think we make things better by retaining rules that prevent a juvenile justice officer from doing her job.
Stewart Little is the general secretary of the Public Service Association.