THE rapidly increasing number of young offenders being placed on remand in the youth justice system has created “dangerous” conditions for staff at the Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre, the public sector union believes.
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WorkSafe issued an improvement notice on the facility at Malmsbury on Monday after numerous reports from staff about unsafe conditions, including 41 incidents of “occupational violence towards staff” in the month of August.
There were a further 20 “stress-related” reports.
The Department of Health and Human Services manages the centre, and has nine weeks to either make appropriate operational changes or appeal the notice.
Community and Public Sector Union occupational health and safety officer Chris Marsich said “overcrowding” at Malmsbury, and the inability to transfer inmates like in the adult system, had pushed the centre to the brink.
“The previous government changed legislation which allowed youth offenders to be remanded while facing charges,” he said.
“We now have a situation where the number of inmates in custody awaiting sentence can almost exceed the other inmates.
“When we visited Malmsbury, the situation was deteriorating. There are many incidents of verbal assaults, some assaults of sexual natures on other inmates, and assaults on staff.”
Mr Marsich said the shift towards casual and agency staff, and a large numbers of vacancies remaining unfilled, had contributed to the conditions. Ice use, mental health issues and gang-related violence were also factors, he said.
“In previous years, Malmsbury was considered a country-based, low risk facility when rehabilitation could take place and the required behavioural changes could be achieved,” he said.
“There is now a high risk facility at Malmsbury, and the situation has changed.”
The CPSU has called on DHHS to appropriately staff Malmsbury, provide adequate training and develop behaviour management systems.
A spokesperson for WorkSafe confirmed the site was being investigated.
“WorkSafe can confirm it attended the site following a complaint in relation to a number of alleged health and safety matters. Our inquiries are continuing,” the spokesperson said.
A DHHS spokesperson said staff safety issues were treated with the “utmost seriousness”, and encouraged staff to report violence.
“The Department is constantly working to improve safety and workplace practices,” the spokesperson said.
“Staff are actively encouraged to report violence and incidents so improvements can be made and appropriate responses can be taken, such as checking on the welfare of staff and reporting incidents to Victoria Police.”