‘Catastrophic’ safety fears over chronic staff shortages at Perth children’s prison
Detention centres

‘Catastrophic’ safety fears over chronic staff shortages at Perth children’s prison

Banksia Hill Detention Centre has been labelled “a tinderbox” by the state’s prison officers union after a Perth court revealed children being locked down for months by chronic understaffing,but the Minister says he has not been told about it.

  • byAja Styles

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‘If you want a monster this is how you do it’:WA judge slams prison he says ‘treated a child like an animal’
Child safety

‘If you want a monster this is how you do it’:WA judge slams prison he says ‘treated a child like an animal’

“When you treat a damaged child like an animal,they will behave like one,” President of the Children’s Court Hylton Quail said of a 15-year-old boy’s treatment in Banksia Hill Detention Centre.

  • byAja Styles
Victorian courts consider only allowing jurors who are fully vaccinated
Legal industry

Victorian courts consider only allowing jurors who are fully vaccinated

Rapid antigen testing for both jurors and those that fall outside the mandatory vaccine requirements is another measure on the table for the courts facing the vexed balance between health and access to justice.

  • byTammy Mills andSimone Fox Koob
‘I’m not having it:’ Eligible prison inmates and staff rejecting AstraZeneca
Exclusive
Coronavirus pandemic

‘I’m not having it:’ Eligible prison inmates and staff rejecting AstraZeneca

Eligible NSW prison inmates and staff have been increasingly rejecting the AstraZeneca vaccine over concerns of rare side effects,with less than half of the total population estimated to have received their first shot.

  • byLucy Cormack
Labor stumps up $210m to clear legal backlog,funds new police stations
Victorian budget

Labor stumps up $210m to clear legal backlog,funds new police stations

The state government has boosted funding for Victoria’s justice system,with funds aimed at courts,police stations and initiatives to prevent Aboriginal deaths in custody.

  • bySumeyya Ilanbey
Inmates are ageing ‘15 years before the rest of NSW’
Exclusive
Prisons

Inmates are ageing ‘15 years before the rest of NSW’

Prison inmates are refusing treatment for life-threatening conditions to avoid being taken to the maximum security prison at Long Bay.

  • byCarrie Fellner
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‘Every death in custody is a tragedy’:Two Indigenous inmates dead in the past week
Deaths in custody

‘Every death in custody is a tragedy’:Two Indigenous inmates dead in the past week

The NSW government has defended the rate at which it is modifying jail cells to prevent self harm,following revelations an Indigenous woman took her own life at Silverwater jail last week.

  • byLucy Cormack
‘Cocaine importer’ asked cellmate to help him die as guards watched TV
Courts

‘Cocaine importer’ asked cellmate to help him die as guards watched TV

Guards who saw Dimitrios Mavris in the hours before he was found dead in his jail cell thought he “seemed fine”,even in positive spirits. But an inquest has revealed the alleged cocaine importer spent his final hours openly making arrangements to kill himself.

  • byJenny Noyes
Prison officer charged over alleged sexual relationship with ex-inmate
Exclusive
Crime

Prison officer charged over alleged sexual relationship with ex-inmate

The arrest of Vicki Greenhalgh,52,comes after police formed a task force to investigate relationships between prison officers and their charges.

  • bySally Rawsthorne
Man fighting for life after Barwon Prison attack
Breaking
Victoria Police

Man fighting for life after Barwon Prison attack

An inmate from the maximum-security Barwon Prison is fighting for life after being stabbed multiple times in the back.

  • byErin Pearson andCameron Houston
Indigenous woman died in jail after nine calls for help,coroner hears
Coroners Court of Victoria

Indigenous woman died in jail after nine calls for help,coroner hears

As Veronica Nelson lay on her cell floor in excruciating pain in the hours before she died,she repeatedly used intercom in desperate attempt to get help.

  • byErin Pearson