A teenage girl was detained in a watchhouse with adults because of crowding in regional youth detention, it has been revealed.
The Children's Court of Queensland heard the girl was arrested in Innisfail, but she could not be transferred to the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre in Townsville as no beds were available.
She spent at least one night in the adult watchhouse and was remanded there, at the same time Townsville police were responding to a spate of property crimes in September.
More than 24 juveniles were arrested in one week and several more teens were arrested over the weekend.
The Queensland Police Service (QPS) said young offenders were being remanded in custody for longer because of "comprehensive bail objections".
As a result, the 112-bed Cleveland Youth Detention Centre is at capacity.
The Department of Youth Justice said that in the past month there were as many as 101 children detained at the centre each day, and no less than 91.
In a statement to the ABC, a department spokesperson said it was "part of normal processing" for a young person to be held in a watchhouse overnight.
That is despite a youth justice overhaul in 2019 when the Queensland government announced it would remove most children from watchhouses after an investigation by the ABC's Four Corners.
The government has also been facing legal action from three young people claiming their human rights were breached when they were locked up in police watchhouses.
Act for Kids chief executive Katrina Lines said the issue of children being detained in watchhouses was of major concern.
"They're seeing and coming into contact with adults who may have committed really quite serious crimes," she said.
"These can be quite young kids who aren't sure how long they are going to be there or what might happen to them.
"Watchhouses can be particularly frightening."
Detention not solution: children's advocate
The Cleveland Youth Detention Centre is the only facility of its kind in regional Queensland, but the state government says it has considered opening another centre in Cairns.
Ms Lines said expanding youth justice would not solve long-standing youth crime issues.
"It doesn't address why young kids are offending in the first place and often re-offend," she said.
"Most of these kids who are offending live in dysfunctional homes and detaining them doesn't actually address that dysfunction."
The department said numbers at the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre changed daily depending on arrests and court outcomes.
"Young people can be held in a watchhouse for one to two days as part of normal processing," a spokesperson said.
"[That] includes arranging transport to a youth detention centre and awaiting court appearances."
QPS said young people remanded in police custody were "segregated from other prisoners".
