Commissioners Margaret White and Mick Gooda use interim report to criticise operation that focuses on punishment over rehabilitation

Royal commission into the protection and detention of children in the Northern Territory

Juvenile detention is failing, the royal commission into the protection and detention of children in the Northern Territory has said in its interim report.

Released on Friday afternoon, the report contained no specific findings or recommendations, claiming it was “too early” while hearings were ongoing, despite the significance of evidence so far.

“The commission is yet to hear evidence on many issues, including evidence from senior management and political leaders in charge of youth detention who provide a perspective that is necessary to inform the work of the commission,” it said.

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However it said it could make some observations, including that the youth detention system “is likely to leave many children and young people more damaged than when they entered”.

“We have heard that the detention facilities are not fit for accommodating children and young people, and not fit for the purpose of rehabilitation. They are also unsuitable workplaces for youth justice officers and other staff,” it said.

“They are harsh, bleak, and not in keeping with modern standards. They are punitive, not rehabilitative.”

The report said evidence so far pointed overwhelmingly to community safety and child wellbeing being best achieved by a “comprehensive, multifaceted approach” based on crime prevention, early intervention, diversionary measures, and community engagement.”

Children and young people who have committed serious crimes must accept responsibility for the harm done. However while in detention they must be given every chance to get their lives on track and not leave more likely to reoffend.

For the past eight months the inquiry into the protection and detention of children in the Northern Territory has been investigating the policies, conditions, and actions which contributed to a juvenile justice crisis.

“At every level we have seen that a detention system which focuses on punitive – not rehabilitative – measures fails our young people,” said Margaret White, one of the commissioners, on Friday ahead of the report’s release. “It fails those who work in those systems and it fails the people of the Northern Territory who are entitled to live in safer communities.

“For a system to work children and young people in detention must be given every opportunity to get their lives on track and to re-enter the community less likely to reoffend.”

White said there was no quick fix and a considered approach was necessary if the commission was to effect long-term, sustainable change.

Mick Gooda, the other commissioner said they had made no specific recommendations in the interim report because key witnesses – including the former minister John Elferink and former corrections commissioner Ken Middlebrook – were yet to be questioned. The commission had also focused mainly on issues in detention so far, and was yet to properly delve in the care and protection side of their terms of reference.

“We have cast the net far and wide to look at what is working and what could work in the circumstances of the Northern Territory,” he said, adding there was a particular focus on the overrepresentation of Aboriginal youth in the system.

“In the coming months we’ll shift our focus on to the care and protection system. This is a critical part of our work and evidence before the commission shows that children and young people in out-of-home care are more likely to enter the detention system. Those systems are inextricably linked.”

The commission was initially slated to be finished by now, but in December it was granted a four-month extension.

Over a series of public hearings and site visits it has covered a broad range of issues, including the more than 50 previous investigations and reviews relating to the system, the impact of health and race issues on detention rates, the disintegrating relationships between corrections and justice agencies, and, of course, the conditions inside detention centres.

Inadequate staff training and insufficient resources were a common theme in witness testimony.

Dozens of additional allegations by detainees were also aired in closed sessions and open court, including alleged and substantiated acts of violence and intimidation, and mistreatment.

The commission faced criticism by government lawyers and commentators over its policy to accept the statements of detainees but not allow cross-examination because they were vulnerable witnesses. Instead numerous responsive statements were provided by the accused, denying and in some cases refuting the claims. Some statements by former guards were similarly discredited under cross-examination.

The Human Rights Law Centre said the royal commission’s interim report would have lessons applicable for all Australian jurisdictions. “These types of problems are not limited to the NT,” said Shahleena Musk, a senior lawyer at the centre. “Right across Australia, politicians are trying to score points by looking tough and ignoring the evidence on what actually works.”

Musk cited the Victorian government’s decision to move youths to a maximum security adult prison as an example. “We know that overly punitive and tougher responses are harmful and don’t work. They don’t help kids get back on track, which is ultimately in the interest of community safety.”