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| Australia's juvenile detention centres are more secretive than Guantánamo Bay | Australia's juvenile detention centres are more secretive than Guantánamo Bay |
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| Jake Roper was held in isolation at the Don Dale juvenile detention facility for 15 days. The length of time he spent there was just five days shy of the worst disciplinary punishment permitted in the solitary confinement unit for enemy combatants held in Guantánamo Bay. | Jake Roper was held in isolation at the Don Dale juvenile detention facility for 15 days. The length of time he spent there was just five days shy of the worst disciplinary punishment permitted in the solitary confinement unit for enemy combatants held in Guantánamo Bay. |
| After the ABC Four Corners graphic investigation into the juvenile detention facility in the Northern Territory, a royal commission has been announced by the Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, to investigate how events there were allowed to occur. | After the ABC Four Corners graphic investigation into the juvenile detention facility in the Northern Territory, a royal commission has been announced by the Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, to investigate how events there were allowed to occur. |
| One pressing question will be how Don Dale permitted staff to isolate children for such lengthy periods of time and what policies it had in place to monitor some of the more extreme methods seen used in the vision obtained by Four Corners. | One pressing question will be how Don Dale permitted staff to isolate children for such lengthy periods of time and what policies it had in place to monitor some of the more extreme methods seen used in the vision obtained by Four Corners. |
| Much of that policy information currently remains secret, making Australia’s juvenile detention centres in some respects less transparent than Australia’s immigration detention system and the United States’ Guantánamo Bay facility in Cuba. | Much of that policy information currently remains secret, making Australia’s juvenile detention centres in some respects less transparent than Australia’s immigration detention system and the United States’ Guantánamo Bay facility in Cuba. |
| Behavioural management, restrictive detention, isolation – these are the more polite phrases used, invariably, to describe solitary confinement. Don Dale’s little rooms were called the behavioural management unit. It was in this wing we see footage of Roper, then a 14-year-old boy, getting out of his cell in the unit after spending a distressing two weeks in confinement. His frustration led him to escape the cell, which sparked a series of events that ended in six boys who were held in the unit being teargassed by guards. | Behavioural management, restrictive detention, isolation – these are the more polite phrases used, invariably, to describe solitary confinement. Don Dale’s little rooms were called the behavioural management unit. It was in this wing we see footage of Roper, then a 14-year-old boy, getting out of his cell in the unit after spending a distressing two weeks in confinement. His frustration led him to escape the cell, which sparked a series of events that ended in six boys who were held in the unit being teargassed by guards. |
| The use of this form of confinement has been singled out internationally for strong criticism. The United Nations special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, has said of seclusion: “There can be no therapeutic justification for the use of solitary confinement and prolonged restraint of persons with disabilities in psychiatric institutions.” Mendez expressed alarm on the ABC on Wednesday about the vision that had emerged from Don Dale. | The use of this form of confinement has been singled out internationally for strong criticism. The United Nations special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, has said of seclusion: “There can be no therapeutic justification for the use of solitary confinement and prolonged restraint of persons with disabilities in psychiatric institutions.” Mendez expressed alarm on the ABC on Wednesday about the vision that had emerged from Don Dale. |
| But many prisons, mental health facilities and immigration detention centres still have policies in place that permit the use of seclusion. Their use greatly varies and, depending on what type of facility, may have different sets of legislation or individual policies that govern it. | But many prisons, mental health facilities and immigration detention centres still have policies in place that permit the use of seclusion. Their use greatly varies and, depending on what type of facility, may have different sets of legislation or individual policies that govern it. |
| What is clear is that the measure of an effective policy is that it limits the length of time of isolation, how frequently it is reviewed and who has the power to make placement decisions. | What is clear is that the measure of an effective policy is that it limits the length of time of isolation, how frequently it is reviewed and who has the power to make placement decisions. |
| Solitary confinement in juvenile justice does vary significantly from state to state, and the Northern Territory does appear to be more lax than others; the children’s commissioner in the Northern Territory has compared the legislation across Australia. In Tasmania and South Australia isolation can’t be used as a punishment in juvenile facilities at all. In Victoria they can, but must be referred to health authorities. In Queensland separation can only be used to protect the person or restore order to the centre and not as a punishment. | Solitary confinement in juvenile justice does vary significantly from state to state, and the Northern Territory does appear to be more lax than others; the children’s commissioner in the Northern Territory has compared the legislation across Australia. In Tasmania and South Australia isolation can’t be used as a punishment in juvenile facilities at all. In Victoria they can, but must be referred to health authorities. In Queensland separation can only be used to protect the person or restore order to the centre and not as a punishment. |
| Related: After the horrific footage from Don Dale, we need to see what hasn't been shown | Related: After the horrific footage from Don Dale, we need to see what hasn't been shown |
| The Northern Territory Youth Justice Act does place some limitations on the use of isolation. It says that detainees may be placed there for 24 hours, or a maximum of 72 hours with the consent of the commissioner. Isolation is loosely defined and none of this explains how Roper came to be in the behavioural management unit for 15 days, or the similar lengths of time for other detainees. It’s unclear whether the 72-hour period can simply be repeated again, or whether the behavioural unit is considered as “isolation”. | The Northern Territory Youth Justice Act does place some limitations on the use of isolation. It says that detainees may be placed there for 24 hours, or a maximum of 72 hours with the consent of the commissioner. Isolation is loosely defined and none of this explains how Roper came to be in the behavioural management unit for 15 days, or the similar lengths of time for other detainees. It’s unclear whether the 72-hour period can simply be repeated again, or whether the behavioural unit is considered as “isolation”. |
| To justify inmates’ lengthy placement, Don Dale told the children’s commissioner they were placed there under a “management plan” and outside the Youth Justice Act in order to get around the timeframes. The children’s commissioner didn’t accept this argument. | To justify inmates’ lengthy placement, Don Dale told the children’s commissioner they were placed there under a “management plan” and outside the Youth Justice Act in order to get around the timeframes. The children’s commissioner didn’t accept this argument. |
| But it showed that Don Dale was effectively making up its own rules. And in the absence of the specific centre policies we have no idea what those rules actually were. | But it showed that Don Dale was effectively making up its own rules. And in the absence of the specific centre policies we have no idea what those rules actually were. |
| The current standard operating procedures for the facility are not publicly available. But we know they’re not considered to be well crafted. A review released in January 2015 commissioned by the NT government and undertaken by a NSW corrections official found that the centre procedure manual at Don Dale was “outdated and inadequate”. It noted that the procedures in Don Dale hadn’t been reviewed since 2011 and found there was limited consistency in how individual children’s time in isolation was reviewed. | The current standard operating procedures for the facility are not publicly available. But we know they’re not considered to be well crafted. A review released in January 2015 commissioned by the NT government and undertaken by a NSW corrections official found that the centre procedure manual at Don Dale was “outdated and inadequate”. It noted that the procedures in Don Dale hadn’t been reviewed since 2011 and found there was limited consistency in how individual children’s time in isolation was reviewed. |
| Related: NT royal commission 'should also include children in immigration detention' | Related: NT royal commission 'should also include children in immigration detention' |
| We have more information about how Guantánamo Bay detention centre permits the use of isolation and – compared with the case of Roper and the other children – it isn’t much more severe. | We have more information about how Guantánamo Bay detention centre permits the use of isolation and – compared with the case of Roper and the other children – it isn’t much more severe. |
| The 2003 standard operating procedures for Guantánamo Bay outlines how enemy combatants in the notorious centre can be held in the maximum security unit for the purpose of “segregation and isolation” for a maximum of 20 days for the most severe “category V offences”. A category V offence is the most serious type of incident, and includes an actual escape, aggravated assault, battery and attempting to infect a person with HIV. | The 2003 standard operating procedures for Guantánamo Bay outlines how enemy combatants in the notorious centre can be held in the maximum security unit for the purpose of “segregation and isolation” for a maximum of 20 days for the most severe “category V offences”. A category V offence is the most serious type of incident, and includes an actual escape, aggravated assault, battery and attempting to infect a person with HIV. |
| Roper was a 14-year-old boy who made an attempt to get out of the prison. | Roper was a 14-year-old boy who made an attempt to get out of the prison. |
| We even know more about Australia’s secretive immigration detention system and how it handles isolation. Asylum seekers can be placed in isolation for up to 24 hours by a detention guard. Anything exceeding 24 hours must be reviewed by an immigration department regional manager, which has led to some being held in confinement units for many weeks. | We even know more about Australia’s secretive immigration detention system and how it handles isolation. Asylum seekers can be placed in isolation for up to 24 hours by a detention guard. Anything exceeding 24 hours must be reviewed by an immigration department regional manager, which has led to some being held in confinement units for many weeks. |
| How can it be that we have more information about the secretive Guantánamo Bay facility than how Australia’s juvenile detention system deals with solitary confinement? | |
| Those policies, and many more documents from inside the facility, are key to unlocking just what happened inside Don Dale. | Those policies, and many more documents from inside the facility, are key to unlocking just what happened inside Don Dale. |