Children detained indefinitely in Queensland watch-houses

An alarming number of children are being held in Queensland police watch-houses for long periods, according to data tabled in the Queensland parliament.

Children as young as 11 have been detained for up to five days at a time with no exercise or visitation rights. Hundreds of young people have been locked in watch-houses over weekends since December. Two 10-year-olds have been detained overnight. One 17-year-old was held in a watch-house for 11 days.

Queensland has long been recognised as the worst state in the nation for holding unsentenced youths in detention.

Plans by the Palaszczuk government to bring 17-year-olds charged with an offence under the youth justice system were delayed in February due to overcrowding. In March the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre, with a capacity of 130, housed 134 detainees, four being forced to sleep on the floor. The Townsville centre held 105 although it has a capacity of 96.

Queensland is the only state in Australia to hold 17-year-olds in adult prisons. ABC News recently reported that a man is suing the government over his time as a 17-year-old in the adult Brisbane Correctional Centre.

Between October 2012 and March 2013, he was isolated for up to 23 hours a day and faced daily strip searches, was forced to get on his knees and place his hands behind his head to receive food, and his window was papered over.

In one incident, he was placed into a body-belt to which his hands were cuffed, and a hood device was placed over his head. He was left alone for more than one hour with no explanation and had difficulty seeing and breathing in the restraints, leaving him with post-traumatic stress and acute stress disorders.