home | news l

Police transport of juveniles dangerous

DANIEL EMERSON

21 October 2009 - Police have admitted the transport of juvenile prisoners in WA is dangerous after a 17-year-old youth was driven 175km to Geraldton on Sunday in a paddy wagon's canvas-covered cage with no seatbelt in about 30C heat.

Assistant Commissioner Wayne Gregson said yesterday WA Police should not be in the business of prisoner transport and wanted to pass responsibility for transporting juveniles to the Department of Corrective Services, which oversees adult prisoners.

The youth was driven by police custody officers from Perth's Banksia Hill remand centre in an air-conditioned "pod" on the back of a police utility but was transferred to the paddy wagon at Warradarge, east of Jurien Bay, from where Geraldton police officers took him the remaining 175km, arriving about 4pm.

Geraldton police said the youth, who had to appear in a Geraldton court on car theft and criminal damage charges on Monday, would have been given a 500ml bottle of water for the journey, allowed to stretch his legs and use a toilet at the half-way point in line with usual procedures.

But the youth's lawyer, George Giudice, said the conditions were "no way to treat kids" and questioned why the boy did not appear via a video link.

State Coroner Alastair Hope last month recommended that the Attorney-General's Department use more video conferencing and limit taking prisoners long distances.
He was handing down findings on the death of Aboriginal elder Mr Ward, who died of heatstroke in a Government-contracted prison van.

"All they've got to do is hit a kangaroo on the Brand Highway coming up here and this kid's dead," Mr Giudice said.

"It gets pretty hot around Eneabba and Badgingarra. My other juvenile client got so distressed on the way up that he got leather from the canopy, undid it and put it around his neck."

Mr Gregson said the practice of police transporting juveniles long distances in canvas cabs without seatbelts was "not ideal".

When asked if this was dangerous, he said: "Yes, there are risks when transporting prisoners in inappropriate vehicles."

Corrective Services Minister Christian Porter said the arrangements needed reform and he was discussing alternatives with the corrective services and police chiefs.

But he said changes would probably have to be at the end of corrective services transport contracts, which were due to be renegotiated in 2011.

Corrective Services spokesman Graeme Doyle said all its prisoner transport vehicles would have seatbelts by December next year.

Source: Yahoo - The West Australian

Further information: law issues page - includes news index and external links