Government should reject calls for a more punitive approach to child prisoners, and should focus on the promotion of the rehabilitation of children and the removal of children from detention. In its submission to the Inquiry into Yourth Justice Centres in Victoria, Liberty noted that both major political parties failed to heed the clear warnings of the Victorian Ombudsman in 2010 that Youth Justice Centres were unfit for purpose. Further, Liberty noted that recently children have been detained in an adult prison in conditions that were found by the Supreme Court of Victoria to breach their human rights.
Full submission available as pdf in download link below.