The ACT Human Rights Commission has released its report into allegations relating to the treatment of young people in the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre, finding that while improvements could be made, there was no ongoing issue concerning the human rights of inmates.
Commissioner for ACT Disability and Community Services, Karen Toohey said the Commission conducted extensive investigations into the allegations, which included claims of inappropriate and excessive use of force, racism, privacy breaches and staff encouraging fights between young people.
“We reviewed incident reports, operational registers and CCTV footage related to the claims that were the subject of the investigation and where possible spoke with young people about incidents they were involved in that were reported in the media,” Ms Toohey said.
“While we found there are areas where the conditions of detention could be improved to better support young people detained in Bimberi, we are satisfied there is no entrenched culture of disregard for the human rights of young people in Bimberi.”
She said most young people spoke highly of most staff.
“While some incidents addressed in this investigation did not comply with expected standards of treatment, we were satisfied that they did not reflect a culture of mistreatment of young people,” Ms Toohey said.
“Bimberi is subject to a comprehensive oversight framework including the ACT Human Rights Commission, the Public Advocate, Official Visitors, the ACT Ombudsman and, from December 2019, the Inspector of Custodial Services.”
She said these oversight mechanisms provided young people with multiple pathways through which they could raise concerns.
The Commission’s 100-page report can be accessed at this PS News link.
