Youth Justice Services

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (15:53): My question is to the Minister for Human Services about youth justice services. Can the minister please update the council on how the Marshall Liberal government is working to improve safety and security for staff and residents of the Kurlana Tapa youth justice centre?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (15:54): I thank the honourable member for her question and for her interest in this area. Honourable members obviously took a keen interest in relation to the banning of spit hoods. We have been able to end that particular practice as of the end of the 2019-20 financial year, in accordance with the recommendations of the Ombudsman, and that is something that we are very glad of.

We have also introduced a number of other initiatives that we think are going to go some way to ensuring that Kurlana Tapa is providing a modern service with a therapeutic approach. A range of things, including a trial for body-worn cameras started in February, which we know is going to be some deterrent to incidents at that centre. We know from interstate that that has been quite successful at providing a deterrent to incidents, which is something we are very keen on.

We started a trial of body-worn cameras on 6 April—I did just mention that. That is going to improve the safety of staff and residents. The body scanning technology has been installed at Kurlana Tapa and that is full-size body scanning technology. That reduces the need for partially clothed searches, which is important for the dignity of residents, and the safety issues can be addressed without them having to remove any of their clothing.

We also have the new strategy in place, which was released in June. It has a strong focus on reducing the over-representation of Aboriginal children and young people in the youth system. There's recruitment and cultural training that's taking place, greater engagement with community providers and other works, which will be taking place at the site to improve the amenity for young people in that system.

Clearly, we would like to see the number of young people in our system reduced. I am pleased that the numbers have reduced over time. I think the current count for the number of young people in the centre is less than 30. We are still working through consolidating onto a single site. In spite of COVID, we are able to do that at this time.

We are looking towards improving the services that are being provided at that site and also through our community service, the government and the non-government partners, to assist young people to lead fulfilling and productive lives into the future.