Traumatised staff from Victoria’s youth jails, where 50% of inmates are African, have spoken out about savage gang attacks committed against workers, some of whom have had their throats slashed or heads stomped on.
One veteran youth justice worker named John said he had “literally worn the blood of other staff members”, and that he and other current and ex-employees were blowing the whistle on the conditions inside in the centres such as Parkville and Cherry Creek as they had “had enough”.
John told News.com.au that one of the worst incidents he had witnessed involved a gang of Africans, but that no one was held directly responsible, despite the attack being caught on CCTV.
“A staff member was on shift at Parkville when he was assaulted by more than a dozen South Sudanese young people. He was punched, kicked, and his head stomped on. His injuries were horrific and he suffered permanent brain damage,” he said.
In 2024 approximately 50% of the young people in custody in Victoria were of African descent, despite the group comprising less than 1% of the youth population, a study found.
John also told of a female staff member being nearly scalped from being struck in the head by a guitar, another staff member having their throat slashed, staff having sexual relationships with underage criminals, and standover tactics being used by teens.
Another former worker, Gary, said he had PTSD from witnessing violence at the state’s Parkville youth justice centre, and that he no longer works in the system after being assaulted by teens.
“During my time there I witnessed escalating violence between ‘clients’ as we had to refer to them an increasing number of attacks on staff including an attack on a colleague who had his throat slashed during an escape attempt,” he said.
Gary also told of fearing he was going to die while being choked by a violent teenager, needing four knee surgeries for an injury suffered when he was tackled by a detainee, and said about 20% of staff ended up on WorkCover.
Despite the violence, staff in the centres say the conditions for the inmates are “like a summer camp” with one female employee describing her job as “being a glorified babysitter”.
She told 3AW the young offenders “couldn’t give a shit about anyone except themselves” and that staff had to take them food anytime they wanted while they were locked in their rooms at night.
“Most of the time – I can’t speak for every unit – the boys would get up, have their breakfast, play PlayStation, go and use the basketball court, go to the swimming pools – indoor and outdoor pools. There’s two pools there and a gym,” she said.
She added that the inmates are not forced to undertake any form of rehabilitation or counselling, saying “it’s a choice of the youths about whether they attend those”.
Last week a now-21-year-old man, who cannot be named because he was first locked up in youth detention as a minor, was jailed for three years and two months over a shocking African gang attack at the now-closed Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre in 2023, ABC News reported.
He was among seven detainees armed with sharpened broomsticks who stole keys and used them to enter a restricted area where they found information about a rival gang member and attacked him in his cell while livestreaming the horrific assault on a stolen tablet.
The victim was beaten with a fire extinguisher, had several teeth knocked out, had his head kicked and stomped on, his hair pulled out, and his face beaten until it was bleeding.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan recently introduced a “machete ban”, including “machete bins”, and announced the formation of the South Sudanese Australian Youth Justice Expert Working Group earlier this month in order to address the state’s spiralling rate of South Sudanese and African gang crime.
John and Gary are pseudonyms used to protect the identities of the workers.
Header image: Left, inmates during a riot at Malmsbury. Right, a worker injured during an attack at the now-closed centre (Victoria Courts).
