Government Slammed for Endangering Children in Adult Prisons

Media Release — Custodial Inspector Richard Connock, 5 June 2025

Government fails to keep children safe by placing them in adult prisons

The Tasmanian Government’s practice of holding children in the state’s adult prisons is putting their safety at risk, and this must change, says Custodial Inspector Richard Connock.

In releasing his Children in Tasmania’s prisons – review report 2025, which was tabled in State Parliament today, Mr Connock said children being held in the state’s adult prisons^ were exposed to threats of sexual abuse, violent behaviour and inhumane and degrading treatment.

“Children should not be in prison. This is the clear conclusion from this report,” Mr Connock said.

“And yet, in spite of the findings of the Commission of Inquiry and the significant youth justice reform agenda currently underway, children and young people continue to be held in prison watch-houses*, exposing them to all manner of violations of their human rights.”

Mr Connock said the Tasmanian government was failing to adhere to the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Act 2023’s Child and Youth Safe Standards.

“Placing children in the same space as adults being held for a range of offences, including child sex offences, clearly does not meet these standards,” he said.

“Many children have informed us that watch-houses are noisy and that they can hear adults shouting at all hours.

“One child told us that while in a watch-house they were subjected to threats of sexual abuse by an adult held in a cell nearby.”

Mr Connock said children were often spending more than 24 hours in prison watch houses without adequate support – for either the child or the supervising correctional officers.

“TPS staff expressed to us concerns about being ill-equipped to manage children in their care – which is understandable given they work in an adult prison,” he said.

“Correctional officers in adult prisons are also not required to hold working with vulnerable people registration, despite such registration being a critical measure to establish if someone is suitable to work with children.

“Concerningly, even my staff are not required to be registered to work with vulnerable people. I nonetheless require it. The Tasmania Prison Service does not.”

Mr Connock said his inspection staff also found the TPS was not adhering to Youth Justice Act 1997 requirements when it came to searching children and young people in prison watch houses, which includes requiring any searches to be conducted by people who are the same gender as the child.

“In Hobart, girls have been particularly affected, with 21 cases recorded of girls – some as young as 13 – being searched by two males since December 2022. This was more than 12% of all receptions of girls during that time.”

Mr Connock said the Tasmanian government needed to act urgently to address the recommendations raised in his report.

“These watch-houses look, feel, smell, sound and function like prisons,” he said. “The vast majority of people held there are adults, and they are run by prison staff with a background in managing adults, not children.

“Despite the commitment to improving standards, operational practices and services, and concerns being raised by the Commissioner for Children and Young People about the wellbeing of children in prison watch-houses, they nonetheless continue to be detained in them.

“Given the current debate in the community about youth crime, including the prospect of ‘adult time for adult crime’, it is timely to reflect on the realities of adult prison and whether, as a community, we actually want children in such an environment. This report demonstrates we should not.

“Too often in our inspection work we have spoken with children in Ashley Youth Detention Centre only to later speak with them in prison. The trajectory is rarely positive, for the child or the community more broadly.

“Keeping children out of prison watch-houses is an important element of a therapeutic approach to youth justice, yet these spaces are the entry point for almost every child that is taken into custody (and not eligible for police bail or unconditionally released). This needs to change.

“I have made 12 recommendations in this report, and I call on the Tasmanian government to implement them without delay to comply with its obligation to keep children safe.”

It is important to note that this report has been compiled following inspections of the prison watch-houses in the Hobart and Launceston Reception Prisons only, not watch-houses in Tasmania Police stations, which fall outside the jurisdiction of the Office of the Custodial Inspector.  

*Children are held in the Hobart and Launceston Reception Prison watch-houses if the police, having concluded their initial inquiries, determine they are ineligible for bail, or if they grant bail on conditions and the child is to be kept in custody until they meet those conditions. See page 28 to 31 of the report for more information.   

Media Release — Meg Webb MLC, Independent Member for Nelson, 5 June 2025

Children Falling though Custodial and Political Gaps

Independent Member for Nelson Meg Webb has called for an end to the practice of detaining children in adult prison watch-houses, following a recent Custodial Inspectorate report detailing how the practice breaches current mandated Child and Youth Safe Standards.

“The independent Custodial Inspector’s latest and alarming report into the use of adult prisons to hold children throws into sharp relief how seriously we are failing young Tasmanians,” Ms Webb said.

“This practice was frowned upon in our penal past, is unacceptable now, and must cease as soon as possible.

“It is clear the practice of placing children in adult prison watch-houses breaches a number of the mandated Child and Youth Safe Standards which came into force in January last year, according to this latest report released by the independent Custodial Inspector.

“Despite loud warnings, this report details multiple examples of children detained in adult prisons, where there is evidence they have been subjected to threats of sexual abuse, were exposed to other violent behaviour, and subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment.

“How is it acceptable for young girls in custody to be searched by male officers?  This report details since December 2022 at least 21 cases where female children, some as young as 13 years old, were searched by males.

“It is also very disturbing to read of the over  representation of Aboriginal children in prison watch-houses, particularly girls, which raises many serious questions of cultural safety which sadly appear to still be languishing in the too hard-basket.

“We must also heed the warnings contained in this report that many prison watch-house staff do not feel appropriately equipped to keep safe children in their care.  This is an untenable situation for those children and those staff.

“The Custodial Inspector’s report sends a clear message that the Liberals ‘adult time for adult crime’ mantra will only exacerbate these fundamental safety and human rights concerns for Tasmanian children.”

Ms Webb was also critical of the lack of focus on the inadequate resourcing provided to the Office of the Custodial Inspector.

“In my Budget reply speech this week I highlighted the unacceptable under-funding of the Custodial Inspector’s Office as one of the independent statutory oversight entities we rely upon to keep a check on the exercise of power over ordinary Tasmanians.

“We must act swiftly on this report’s 12 recommendations, and we must also ensure our independent oversight bodies are properly resourced to enable this vital work of reporting back to power continues unhindered no matter how uncomfortable that may made governments of the day,” Ms Webb said.

Media Release — Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service, 5 June 2025

Children Falling though Custodial and Political Gaps