Douglas* was six in 2011 when his stepfather and two siblings died in a car crash. Court documents show his mother fell into a heavy depression, drank alcohol excessively, and often left him uncared for and unsupervised.
He would arrive at school late with no food, or be found by police wandering the streets.
When he was 16, Douglas had a mental health episode and attempted to hang himself in a Queensland police watch house. Police charged him for ripping his shirt.
Suicide attempts, mental health episodes and other incidents requiring treatment are “frighteningly common” for children held alongside adults in holding cells, Guardian Australia has learned.
A source from the state Child and Youth Forensic Outreach Service, who asked not to be identified because they are not allowed to speak publicly, said they frequently see children at risk of harm if they remain imprisoned in watch houses.
“We very often write reports saying ‘this child is suicidal’ or at risk if they remain in the watch house,” the source said.
“But the best that happens is they might put in place something to help them cope: bring them different food or whatever. Nothing anyone says can get them moved out.”
On Thursday, the Queensland government passed new legislation, with no outside scrutiny, to suspend its own Human Rights Act and allow the indefinite detention of children in adult police watch houses.
Children in the state have regularly been kept in watch houses for extended periods, up to 40 days, because youth prisons are full. But last weekend the solicitor general advised – following a recent court challenge – that the longstanding practice had been based on a “likely incorrect” interpretation of the Youth Justice Act.
The youth justice minister, Di Farmer, says this week’s law change allows for the continuation of “business as usual”.
What does ‘business as usual’ look like?
A Guardian investigation – under way prior to the legal changes this week – was told of situations where children in watch houses have not been able to access medical treatment, sanitary products or appropriate food, including the case of a younger child who was diabetic and suffered a mental health episode after being fed takeaway fast food several days in a row.
The Cairns organisation that brought the court challenge this month, Youth Empowered Towards Independence (Yeti), says the local police watch house has no educational services; limited, crisis-oriented medical care; no natural light except for in an exercise yard; and little to no air-flow.
The toilets in the holding cells are not partitioned, meaning boys and girls can be watched by other detainees or police, via CCTV, while they are going to the toilet.
“Sometimes the children erect their own barrier using a mattress held up, or by wrapping a blanket around themselves, while they use the toilet,” says Genevieve Sinclair, the chief executive of Yeti.
She says watch houses are noisy and lack privacy. The only drinking water available is from a tap near the toilet, which children sometimes avoid due to dirt or smells.
“Children … are sometimes living four to a cell, which is designed to hold only two people, meaning that they sleep on the floor instead of on the benches,” Sinclair says.
“[The watch house] does not have easy means of children changing clothes over the course of their stay, meaning that some children do not change at all during their stays, which might be a week or longer.”
They are also surrounded by adult prisoners.
“They are in separate cells within the same facility, but the cells are not soundproofed at all,” Sinclair said.
“Some girls have reported feeling frightened because adult women have made threats to them from nearby cells.”
The Queensland public guardian, Shayna Smith, told the Guardian in May that a watch house was “an unacceptable place for any child”.
“Children have reported the use of force; strip-searches; overcrowding and having to sleep in common areas with lights on 24/7; lack of access to personal hygiene items such as underwear, toothbrush, or a daily shower; being co-located with adults experiencing the effects of drugs, alcohol or psychosis; and lack of access to fresh air or sunlight.”
Farmer said in a statement this week that the government was committed to keeping young people in watch houses for the shortest possible time, but that “in circumstances where they are waiting for a court appearance or waiting for a place in a youth detention centre, it is necessary to keep some young people in a watch house – for their safety, the safety of our staff, and the safety of the community.”
Labor MPs say they were told the Human Rights Act override was necessary because if a court challenge succeeded, children would be taken to detention centres, doubled into cells and that “riots” might occur.
But multiple sources, including Sinclair, say crowding is severe in watch houses.
“On Monday, there were 13 children in the [Cairns] watch house and Queensland Police advised they were at 142% capacity,” Sinclair says.
“This is not safe for anyone.”
‘Almost inevitable progression to adult justice system’
The office of the public guardian said many children detained in police watch houses for prolonged periods were “subsequently admitted to a detention centre and again experience prolonged periods of lockdowns and separation”.
“The cumulative impact of this repeated and prolonged isolation can have a significant impact on the wellbeing of already vulnerable children, significantly reducing the potential for their successful rehabilitation,” Smith says.
“Early contact with the criminal justice system can have lasting impacts on a child’s development and increase the chances of re-incarceration, leading to an almost inevitable progression to the adult justice system.”
In 2014, when Douglas was nine, the Queensland Department of Child Safety became involved in his care.
“But by this stage he had complex behavioural and mental health issues,” court documents say.
“He had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiance disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.” At 12, Douglas committed his first offences.
When he was later arrested at age 16, his lawyer told the court Douglas “found detention stressful” and that he was scared of police.
“There had been an episode in the watch house where he experienced a mental health episode, the ambulance was called and he was given a needle to calm him,” the court documents say.
“He has a fear of that happening again in custody. This submission [is] supported by the facts of one of the charges, for which he received community service, which related to him tearing up a shirt in an attempt to hang himself whilst in the watch house.”
Police advise that as of Thursday afternoon 24 August there were 41 young people behind held on remand in police custody in Queensland.
* Douglas is a pseudonym used by the Queensland children’s court
• In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.
