A planned crackdown on youth crime by the new Northern Territory government has stirred controversy but the voices at the centre of the debate are missing.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro, who led the Country Liberal Party back to power at last week's election, has vowed to reintroduce spit hoods on children and lower the age of criminal responsibility back to 10.
But children affected by these policies can't tell their story - the law prohibits it. A series of archaic rules silence the young people whose stories are condensed into reports and hearings where the only prospects are criminalisation.
These are the children, often with complex trauma and disability, inside the Territory's justice system.
One incident highlighted in a 2023 report by NT Ombudsman Peter Shoyer involved a "clearly unwell" boy who had entered a childcare centre after hours seeking help.
He had been vomiting "profusely" before he was forcibly restrained by a police officer, who used his foot to apply pressure to the child's head.
While handcuffed and waiting outside for an ambulance, the boy spat towards an officer and was placed in a spit hood "without warning or explanation", the report said.
The boy asked for the spit hood to be removed because he needed to vomit.
"A member responded to him, stating: 'You can vomit through it, that's what they're designed for'," Mr Shoyer wrote.
"The child responded explaining that the spit hood was too tight with the elastic around his throat."
When the spit hood was finally removed, it was noted there was "blood or bile" inside it, the report said.
Mr Shoyer reviewed 30 incidents involving the use of spit hoods on children from 2020 to 2021 and found police had often improperly used the "extraordinary restraints" and failed to adequately de-escalate situations.
He recommended the devices not be used in any settings.
Instead Ms Finocchiaro has promised she will reinstate the legal use of spit hoods during the first week of parliament.
Health and justice advocates fear it is a backwards step.
Spit hoods were banned in the Territory in 2016 following a royal commission into youth detention, however in 2022 it was revealed NT Police had continued to use them on children as young as 12.
Ban Spit Hood Coalition spokesperson Latoya Aroha Rule's brother, Wayne Fella Morrison, died after an altercation with prison officers in South Australia in which he was restrained and placed in a spit hood.
"We will not be intimidated - we simply can't afford to be when 10-year-old children are at risk of suffocation and death," they said.
National Justice Project chief executive and principal lawyer George Newhouse said he understood voters were concerned about crime, but the Country Liberal Party's proposal would not make the Territory safer.
"It's hard to believe that one of the first steps (the chief minister) wants to do is locking up 10-year-olds - how pathetic," he said.
"In reality, the number of 10-year-olds that will ever be locked up is minuscule."
Mr Newhouse said instead of "locking up a generation", the Territory needed to address the social drivers of crime by addressing poverty.
Prior to the former NT Labor government in 2023 raising the criminal age of responsibility to 12, approximately four children per year aged 10 and 11 were incarcerated.
The NT incarcerates one per cent of its population and up to four per cent of Territorians come into contact with the justice system each year.
Data shows those in Territory jails are overwhelmingly Aboriginal and nearly all children in detention are First Nations.
Mr Newhouse said the CLP's plans will lead to further over-incarceration in a system that is already full, as well as billions wasted on building more jails.
Ms Finocchiaro will also introduce Declan's Law, a bail amendment bill she plans to table in the first week of sittings.
It is named in honour of 20-year-old bottle shop worker Declan Laverty, who was stabbed to death in 2023 while working in a bottle shop in Darwin's northern suburbs.
The amendment will enforce a presumption against bail for "serious violent offenders" including when someone threatens to use a weapon.
Repeat offenders will start with a position of no bail and those who are granted bail will be subject to mandatory electronic monitoring.
The criminal offence of breach of bail will also be reintroduced for young people.
Justice Reform Initiative executive director Mindy Sotiri said the CLP's proposed changes would increase the number of people in prison in the NT, entrenching disadvantage and making future reoffending more likely.
"The solutions to reducing crime are not found in legislative reforms like restricting bail, but are in the community," she said.
Dr Sotiri said it took real investment and hard work at the grassroots level with individuals, families and communities to address the drivers of crime.
The evidence showed "tough-on-crime" measures increased the likelihood of further offending, making communities less safe, she said.
Recent data showed only five out of 19 Closing the Gap targets were on track, and the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people is not on track to close as targeted by 2031.
The rate of suicide among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has also increased since the baseline year.
Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT chief executive John Paterson hopes the CLP government will work towards closing the gap for Aboriginal Territorians.
"AMSANT supports prevention, intervention and diversion that is evidence-based and community-led and welcomes government efforts towards this agenda," he said.
"The CLP Government is focused on addressing liveability in the Territory and it is our hope to ensure that includes better liveability for Aboriginal people – and for those working in Aboriginal primary health care."
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