Banksia Hill at boiling point after riots, lockdowns

BANKSIA HILL’S SPIRAL INTO CRISIS

June 2021 – An independent inspector highlights concerns youths are being locked in their cells for 14 hours a day

February 2022 – A teenage boy’s 11-week stint on remand in Banksia Hill is described by a judge as one of “dehumanisation and deprivation” after he spent 33 days confined to his cell alone with no fresh air or exercise

April 2022 – Custodial Services Inspector Eamon Ryan describes conditions at Banksia as “inhumane”, revealing detainees had formed a suicide pact

June 2022 – About 100 cells at Banksia Hill are ruined, officials say, after detainees smashed toilets and walls

July 2022 – Seventeen boys are moved to the standalone Unit 18 facility at the maximum security Casuarina adult prison

August 12, 2022 – Figures tabled in parliament highlight multiple attempts at suicide and self-harm among Unit 18 detainees

August 25, 2022 – Supreme Court finds a teenager at Banksia Hill was unlawfully locked in his cell for periods exceeding 20 hours on more than two dozen occasions

October 2022 – WA justice department officials say they will continue to use lockdowns if necessary despite the Supreme Court ruling

November 2022 – WA’s government flags it will ban the dangerous “folding up” technique after ABC News broadcasts disturbing footage of a youth’s restraint

December 2022 – Detainees at Banksia Hill climb onto rooftops and light a fire, damaging buildings

January 2023 – A class action filed on behalf of detainees alleges a teenage girl with autism was confined for up to 23 hours a day and forced to earn her bedding

February 2023 – A guard at Banksia Hill suffers a suspected fractured skull after being hit by objects thrown from rooftops by youth detainees

March 2023 – Officers walk off the job at Banksia Hill amid “dangerous” conditions and a pay dispute

April 2023 – Multiple officers are injured in separate incidents involving detainees at Unit 18

May 9-10, 2023 – Detainees riot at Banksia Hill, burning buildings, threatening staff and causing extensive damage

May 10, 2023 – Then-WA premier McGowan likens the rioters’ behaviour to “terrorism”, saying fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is being used as an excuse for their actions

May 19, 2023 – Fresh claims of excessive force, ongoing lockdowns and sexual harassment are made in complaint letters written on detainees’ behalf

June 6, 2023 – Incoming premier Roger Cook appoints Paul Papalia to replace Bill Johnston as corrective services minister following Mr McGowan’s retirement

June 7, 2023 – Inspector Eamon Ryan warns Banksia Hill is in a state of emergency with unprecedented staff shortages and lockdowns leaving tensions at boiling point

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