Page 4674 - Week 12 - Thursday, 1 November 2018
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MS STEPHEN-SMITH: In relation to the Bimberi headline indicators report for 2017-18, I note that I am continuing to deliver on the commitment I made to the Assembly in providing an overview of the performance of Bimberi Youth Justice Centre in August 2017. This report enables us to objectively compare and contrast a range of indicators by which we can measure the progress being made to support those young people who are involved in the justice system and who end up in Bimberi. The report I am tabling today provides 2017-18 data for measures in three areas: demographics; safety and security; and programs, education and community engagement.
Caution should be taken when interpreting data in this headline report. It uses unpublished data which has not been cleansed by an external agency and so may not be comparable with data from youth justice centres in other jurisdictions. The report also relies on operational data that is extracted through a manual count. As previously advised, the Community Services Directorate is in the process of finalising a new client information management system that will allow for the improved extraction of data.
I anticipate that this report will support the analysis of trends over time to continue to drive improved practice in Bimberi and better outcomes for young people and their families. This second Bimberi headline report provides comparison data across the 2016-17 and 2017-18 financial years. As I have said before, I am committed to being as transparent as possible about Bimberi’s operational performance. This report supports the existing mechanisms providing robust oversight of Bimberi.
These oversight mechanisms include the ACT Human Rights Commission and two official visitors, one of whom is a designated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander official visitor. Within the next 18 months, Bimberi will also be overseen by the newly established Inspector of Correctional Services, through a phased implementation approach, which will account for the unique needs of children and young people.
This report shows areas of Bimberi operations where it is important to maintain focus, as well as areas to build on success. The report indicates an increase of use of force, category 2 incidents and assaults. This reflects the increase in the average number of young people in Bimberi on an average day, the increase in the total number of custody days and the significance of the offences for which young people are being detained in Bimberi; for example, serious assault, family violence offences and arson.
The Human Rights Commission has a key role in examining the register for use of force and incidents. In addition, they have powers to speak to young people directly about incidents and have access to relevant materials, such as incident reports and CCTV footage to review incidents directly. The Public Advocate and Children and Young People Commissioner visited Bimberi on 43 occasions during 2017-18, with the official visitors also visiting on 52 occasions.
Keeping children and young people safe while in Bimberi is crucial. One of the headline measures included in the report is the number of operational lockdowns. An
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