2015-16

PERFORMANCE, ACHIEVEMENTS AND OUTCOMES
Youth Detention
During 2015-16, youth detention activities
and issues included:
Don Dale Youth Detention Centre
• establishment of the High Security
Unit to manage challenging detainees
and associated staffing requirements.
• management of former Berrimah site
which requires an increase in staff to
manage security and thje visits post,
and has higher operational costs for
the larger facility.
• repairs to the former Holtze Youth
Detention Centre due to detainee
damage of $208,000.
Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre
• change in operational management
to a holding centre due to an escape
by three detainees in October 2015;
• the change in operations saw the
introduction of Correctional Officers
and the requirement for regular
transfers of detainees to Don Dale
Youth Detention Centre; and
• introduction of iPod based music
solution that is used as a reward for
good behaviour.
Seek Education or Employment not Detention
program
The Seek Education or Employment not
Detention (SEED) program is designed to build
youth detainees’ skills in education and/or
employment to support their reintegration back
to community and to break the cycle of
re-offending.
A SEED Committee provides the overarching
guidance of the program and ensures that
participants are engaged in appropriate
education and training programs that are aligned
to their individual case management plans, to
ensure outcomes meet the individuals’ future
aspirations and capabilities.
The SEED Committee consists of various
stakeholders within youth detention including
education, custodial, and case management.
Darwin and Alice Springs have separate
committees to recognise operational differences
in these locations.
The year has provided a number of challenges
for the program including the establishment of
a new daily routine, particularly for high security
detainees and the temporary transition of the
Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre to a
Holding Centre.
The age and classification of detainees remaining
in Alice Springs in addition to the short period
they are held at the Centre before being released
or transferred to Don Dale Youth Detention
Centre (DDYDC) has made it impossible to
engage young people in the program in Alice
Springs.
The Darwin SEED Committee has been working
on a number of new initiatives with the benefit
of new staff and ideas being brought to the
program. These ideas focus on pre-employment
activities to ensure detainees are work-ready
should they elect to pursue an employment
outcome.
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES
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