‘They’re not little boys’: Broken bones and stabbings among the serious injuries as assaults on staff at juvenile prisons double in just two years
- Assaults on juvenile detention centre guards have doubles over last two years
- The spike in assaults, including stabbings, has prompted government action
- Stronger legislation introduced for assaults against detention centre guards
- There is also a push for a pay rise to reflect the dangers of the job
New figures have revealed assaults on staff at Victorian juvenile detention centres have doubled in just two years, prompting calls of staff to paid more to reflect the danger they are in, and tougher penalties for offenders.
Former Malmsbury Youth Detention Centre guard Anthony Dunbar told ABC News he had been employed at the facility for only two weeks when he was first assaulted.
He said he considered his assault minimal compared to those already suffered by other guards.
Assaults on juvenile detention centre guards in Victoria have doubled in just two years prompting calls for tougher penalties for assaulting employees and a pay rise to reflect the danger of the job (picture supplied by Bendigo Magistrates Court)
Former Malmsbury Youth Detention Centre guard, Anthony Dunbar, said he could have lost sight in his right eye after being assaulted by a juvenile inmate during a transfer (stock image)
‘There’s other guys that have actually had broken bones in their back, there’s broken noses, there’s been people that have been stabbed,’ Mr Dunbar said.
Mr Dunbar was escorting an inmate when the assault occurred.
He said the inmate was as tall as him, six foot three, which made containing the situation difficult.
The assault left him with a fractured eye socket which took 11 weeks to heal properly.
‘They’re not little boys that are in there, I could have lost sight in my eye … we were basically having (incidents) every single day, there was just assault after assault all the time,’ Mr Dunbar said.
According to data obtained by the ABC there were a total of 130 assaults on juvenile detention staff in the past financial year, almost one assault every three days.
After the number of assaults more than doubled WorkCover insurance premiums also more than doubled, from $1.6 million a month to $4.2 million a month.
In the 2017-18 financial year Victorian juvenile detention centres had a total of 523 young people in detention, down slightly from 528 people in 2016–17.
Victorian centres still the large increase in assaults despite having the lowest rate of juvenile offenders in custody.
A statement by Youth Justice Minister Ben Carroll said it was unacceptable for staff to be assaulted at any rate and the state government would move to address the figures.
‘We have invested more than $1 billion to overhaul our youth justice system, delivering more and better trained and equipped staff and upgrading infrastructure,’ he said.
The government will also introduce new legislation with tougher penalties for those who assault staff.
The spike in assaults on staff also prompted the Community and Public Sector Union to call for a 3.5 per cent pay rise for staff ‘to adequately reflect the dangers of the job’.
Youth Justice Minister Ben Carroll said in a statement it was unacceptable for staff to be assaulted at any rate and the state government would move to address the figures