AUSTRALIA | Inspector’s report on Cairns and Murgon watch-houses released

The Cairns and Murgon watch‑houses inspection report: Focus on detention of children, prepared by the Inspector of Detention Services, was tabled by the Honourable Curtis Pitt MP, Speaker of the Queensland Parliament on Wednesday 11 September 2024.

Under the Inspector of Detention Services Act 2022 (IDS Act) the Queensland Ombudsman, Mr Anthony Reilly, is also the Inspector of Detention Services (Inspector). 

The report makes 19 recommendations for improvement to address the concerns that were identified during the inspections of Cairns and Murgon watch-houses. Concerns included admission processes, lack of privacy, assessment of risk and harm and issues relating to children being detained in watch-houses for a long time. 

Watch-houses, which are operated by the Queensland Police Service, are intended to be used for the short-term detention of a person prior to them being granted bail or being transferred to a youth detention centre or prison. However, watch-houses in Queensland are now used to detain children for lengthy periods of time.

The Cairns and Murgon watch-houses are two facilities in which children have spent
many weeks. Case studies in the report highlight practices used at these watch-houses.

The majority of children detained in watch-houses, including at Cairns and Murgon,
are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples. Children who are placed in watch-houses are often already vulnerable, and many have significant health complexities and
traumatic backgrounds.

Mr Reilly said, “In our inspections of these two watch-houses, we focused on the fundamental issues of keeping children safe and unharmed, and treating them humanely. We are concerned that the infrastructure of both watch-houses is not suitable for detaining children, especially for longer periods of time."

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Source: Queensland Ombudsman, Australia