Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos and Director of Secure Services at the Department of Health & Human Services Ian Lanyon speaking to the media about the Parkville Youth Detention Centre riots. Credit:Paul Jeffers The report describes how the overzealous use of "lockdowns" – where young prisoners are locked in their cells for long periods due to endemic staffing problems – was "increasing tension ... and contributing to the level of risk". "Almost every level of Secure Services [which runs youth jails] has expressed concern at … the lack of staff and subsequent lockdowns have been a contributing factor" to the March 2016 riots. "On the day that I visited Remand South [at Parkville], it was in lockdown all day due to the lack of staff. Practice appears to be to rotate lockdown days across the centre." Mr Muir declared that youth justice staff "can not be expected to house the mix (remand/sentenced), complexity and severity of offenders in the current set of facilities," while also detailing serious staff and management failings.

Paramedics enter the Melbourne Youth Justice Centre in Parkville on November 14, 2016, after riots. Credit:Pat Scala The 61-page report was ordered after wild riots at the Parkville facility on March 6 and 7, 2016, which were filmed by television news crews and involved a small group of inmates climbing onto a roof and destroying property with poles. Mr Muir sent his report to the Andrews government in May, six months before the November riots destroyed a third of the precinct and prompted the state government to send young inmates to the Barwon maximum security adult jail. The government has refused to release the details, which also allude to the damning findings of an earlier 2015 secret report that Mr Muir also wrote for the state government on the same issue. The leaking of the report comes as Mr Lanyon, the man who has run Parkville for the past few years, has been moved from his job as the director of Secure Services into head office as a special advisor for Youth Justice Operations.

Mr Lanyon has been a polarising figure since he became a director, partly because of his attempts to rid the system of what he viewed as bad habits and dead wood. Youth Affairs Minister Jenny Mikakos – who only last week said she believed Mr Lanyon was doing "a very good job in difficult circumstances" – simply said through her spokesman: "As is standard practice, the government does not comment on staffing appointments made by the departments". A department spokesman said the change was part of a broader "system overhaul". "Recent events have highlighted the need to overhaul Victoria's youth justice system to best meet the needs of the community and young people ... Mr Lanyon's policy and operational experience will be invaluable in this role providing expertise as we design and implement a new operating model and new infrastructure." The Muir report highlights how factors under the government's control, in addition to an unruly teen inmate population, are contributing to Victoria's youth justice crisis. But his report cautions against some of the tough-on-crime responses being proposed by youth justice staff union, the CPSU, and says it is "vital" to focus on the rehabilitation of young offenders.

Multiple government sources said Mr Muir's findings could apply to the riots in November and earlier this month. The findings raise serious questions about the government's decision to use the Grevillia wing of Barwon prison to hold young inmates. This has been controversial because Grevillia is plagued by lockdowns, staffing problems and poor facilities – factors which Mr Muir said had led to the Parkville crisis. Mr Muir blamed the March 2016 riots at Parkville on "the failing of infrastructure" to contain offenders who showed behaviour that "will almost certainly occur again". "A rising degree of tension in the [Parkville youth justice] Precinct over the issue of lockdowns as the result of staffing shortages … was a contributing factor" to the March 2016 riots, he wrote. "Inconsistency in practice between staff can be a trigger for escalated behaviours of clients. Inconsistency in practice can be exacerbated through the lack of permanent, experienced and competent staff such is the situation at PYJP [Parkville Youth Justice Precinct]." While he praised some of the staff at Parkville, including the centre's emergency response team, he also found that in some sections of the facility, inmates were "left to run around and break ranks with little control or discipline exerted by staff".

Mr Muir's report savages the state of buildings at the Parkville facility, saying the major problems he identified in his confidential 2015 report were not only "still held" but were worsening. "The site is in need of total redevelopment," he wrote, stressing that "hollow-core wooden doors in various parts of the precinct" were "totally unsuitable for a custodial environment." Ms Mikakos said several improvements were being made, including more staff, a new facility to replace the old Parkville centre, and a wide-ranging review to fix any other gaps in the youth justice system. Got a tip for the investigative team? email nmckenzie@fairfaxmedia.com.au