CYF residence at 1 Will St, Abbotsford, Dunedin. Photo: ODT.

A Dunedin youth advocate has hit out at Child, Youth and Family after young offenders have been forced to spend time in police cells or been transferred to residences as far away as Auckland while Dunedin’s Will St home sits idle.

Barrister and youth advocate Brian Kilkelly said he and other youth advocates had been frustrated at the regularity with which youth offenders, those aged under 17, had spent time in police custody awaiting appearances in the Youth Court while Child, Youth and Family’s (CYF) Will St home, in Abbotsford, had been unused because caregivers had not been appointed to the facility.

"It’s something we have all been hammering away at for a long time, because we get stuck with young kids who need some sort of secure care with nowhere to go," he said.

"In the last 12 months we have kids sent there [police custody] quite regularly while Will St sits basically empty because they don’t have the staff to man it or the will to man it."

The alternative to police custody was the children being sent to one of CYF’s four youth justice residences in Christchurch, Palmerston North, Rotorua or Auckland.

The children were sent where a bed was available, he said.

"The sad thing about that is they are a considerable distance from their families," he said.

"That’s the situation we are in and it is unsatisfactory."

The situation came to a head last week when a 16-year-old who had already spent a night in police custody was set to spend another because CYF could not house him elsewhere.

However, a Youth Court judge intervened and placed the child into CYF custody, Mr Kilkelly said.

On that day, there were 10 other children awaiting placements in youth justice residences, he said.

"We don’t like it and police don’t like it," he said.

"It’s not a place to have a 14-year-old around or 15- or 16-year-olds. It’s not the place for them."

It was particularly frustrating as he had been provided no good reason why the Will St residence could not be opened and used to house children.

"The Will St residence needs to be open and no-one’s given me a damn good reason why it’s not," he said.

"It was a residence that was the envy of many in the country in my view.‘‘It’s a brilliant residence but it’s sitting there empty."

Child, Youth and Family Te Waipounamu regional director Theresa Perham said, in an emailed statement via a media adviser, the home was not in use as "we have been unable to recruit the right caregivers".

"When we have caregivers in place, we will use it to support our vulnerable young people," the statement said.

"In the specific case you have asked about there is no guarantee that, had the home been operating, it would have been an option for the young man."

The statement said the home was "last occupied in August this year".

Subsequent questions about when caregivers last operated the home and what was meant by it being occupied last month were met with the response that "it hasn’t been used for some time" and "it certainly hasn’t had permanent caregivers for some time".

A police spokeswoman said the 16-year-old was held in police custody after his bail was opposed.

As of Thursday last week, there were nine juveniles in police custody around the country, she said.

Child, Youth and Family youth justice support manager Phil Dinham said more short-term arrest placements had been taken into residences this year than in the past five years, reducing the use of police cells.

"However, in areas where access to a residence or alternative safe placement is not readily available, there remain times when a police cell is the best option to ensure community safety and that the young person will appear in court," he said.

The number of Youth Court cases had dropped dramatically in the past five years, from about 5000 in 2010 to under 2000 last year.

However, the number of young people remanded in custody had remained the same, he said.

"The overuse of custody is a concern and one that has been identified by the Expert Advisory Panel that reviewed CYF and is the subject of recommendations in their report ‘Expert Panel Final report: Investing in Children’," he said.

"Identifying community based alternatives to custodial remands is recommended as one of the early opportunities for the new children’s agency — the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki — and there is exploratory work under way at present."

In the case of the 16-year-old, CYF social workers "worked closely with the courts and police to ensure this young person was well supported while in police custody", he said.

Mr Kilkelly sympathised with Dunedin CYF staff who were left in an undesirable situation while Will St remained unused.

"People in Dunedin are subject to what comes from Wellington," he said.

"It’s sitting out there, this wonderful residence in Abbotsford, empty."

timothy.brown@odt.co.nz