Brisbane to take youth jail surplus

PLANS are in place to ship North Queensland’s youth offenders 1300km south to Brisbane if overcrowding at the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre continues.

Children who would otherwise be sent to the Townsville facility could instead be moved to the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre, the state government has confirmed.

A government spokeswoman said the plan was “in place but at the moment it was not needed”.

It is understood children held in police watch houses in North Queensland for an extended period of time would be sent to Brisbane.

Sources said youths would be kept at the Brisbane watch house until room at Cleveland or Brisbane Youth Detention Centre became available.

The watch house in Brisbane is seen as a better option for youths due to its size and amenities.

The plan comes as the Townsville Bulletin revealed children who were taken into custody were spending more time in watch houses as a result of overcrowding.

As of April 15 there were 107 young people being held in Cleveland, which has room for 96.

Youth Minister Di Farmer said it was “standard practice” to manage numbers between the Brisbane and Cleveland centres.

“Numbers are managed across the two detention centres to ensure safety and security of staff and detainees,” she said.

Ms Farmer said the department worked with police and other stakeholders in the community to reduce the number of young people in detention.

“There are two supervised bail accommodation facilities operating in Townsville,” she said.

Opposition leader Deb Frecklington said reports youth detainees were being flown to Brisbane due to overcrowding was “disturbing”.

A quarterly report on Queensland’s youth detention centres from March 2017 found “factional tension” between Cleveland and Brisbane youth offenders had “severely disrupted schooling provision”.

“A frequent flyer service between Brisbane and Townsville is not a long- term solution for the youth justice system,” Ms Frecklington said.