Latest news with #Palmerston
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
NT Police data shows 19 self-harm incidents in youth watch houses over six-month period
Confidential Northern Territory police data has revealed there were nearly 20 cases of self-harm involving children in watch houses over a six-month period. Warning: This story contains references to self-harm some readers may find distressing. In the incident reports, obtained by the ABC under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws, the youngest of the teenagers to self-harm was aged 13, while there were five cases involving 14-year-olds. In total — between August 25, 2024, and March 5, 2025 — there were 19 self-harm cases involving youths across four watch houses in Palmerston, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and Katherine. The 19 cases included 12 "actual" self-harm incidents, with the other seven classed as "attempts". All but one of the cases involved an Indigenous teenager. Following 12 of the incidents, the youthsinvolvedwere transported to a hospital. In response to the incidents, NT Children's Commissioner Shahleena Musk said many of the children being arrested and held in territory watch houses were "very vulnerable". "They present with many complex needs, including disability, mental health conditions," she said. "Many of these children are in care, and they're the children who are ending up in a place like a police cell for hours or days at a time. The FOI data received by the ABC covers 60 pages and also reveals 870 instances of children being held in watch houses over the same six-month period. The 870 "custody events" involved 402 individual children, some of whom were recidivist offenders. Of the 402 youths, 388 were Indigenous. Some of the NT's watch houses are notoriously overcrowded, with windowless cells and the lights on 24 hours a day. The data shows that six of the self-harm incidents occurred at Palmerston watch house, while five took place at Katherine watch house. The Tennant Creek and Alice Springs watch houses were the sites of four incidents each. Across the four watch houses, 13 incidents involved boys while six involved girls. NT Police Association president Nathan Finn said self-harm was "always a common occurrence" in watch houses. "Not just with youth, it's obviously with adult offenders as well," he said. In addition to the 19 cases of self-harm, there were another 22 watch house incidents involving youths recorded over the six months of data. Police officers were assaulted on five occasions, including four times when they were spat on. There were another two spitting incidents that were not classed as assaults. Other incidents included hospitalisations due to mental health, illnesses and pre-existing conditions. Mr Finn said after being spat on, police officers regularly had to take blood tests to confirm they had not contracted a disease. "Sometimes the delays in getting these processed can … cause issues in their personal life, where they have to wait a certain period to confirm whether they have contracted anything or whether they haven't contracted anything," he said. "That plays hugely on the minds of police officers and the mental anguish that that causes in a personal relationship on the outside is huge. The NT Police Force has been contacted for comment.
ABC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Nearly 400 Indigenous children and teens held in NT police watch houses over six-month period
Almost 400 Indigenous children and teenagers have been held in the Northern Territory's notorious police watch houses over a six-month period, the ABC can reveal. Exactly how long the children were kept in the watch houses may never been known, however, with NT Police admitting they are recording erroneous time-spent-in-custody information. The ABC has obtained nearly 60 pages of confidential NT Police data under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws, tracking youths in custody from August 25, 2024, to March 5, 2025. The Country Liberal Party government was elected on a tough-on-crime platform on August 24. NT Police initially refused to release the data to the ABC, so it had to be sourced through FOI. The data shows there were nearly 870 youth "custody events" in NT police watch houses over the six months. The custody events involved 402 individual youths, some of whom were recidivist offenders. Of the 402 youths, the dataset — which NT Police confirmed was correct — shows 388 were Indigenous. A police spokesperson who confirmed the numbers said all watch houses were "managed through strict policy, procedures and instructions". "The primary consideration in relation to people in police custody is the safety and welfare of the individual," they said. The independent member for Mulka in the NT parliament, Yingiya Guyula, said children in watch houses were being "traumatised in a way that does not encourage rehabilitation". "I have visited the watch house in Palmerston and holding people for days in these conditions is just cruel," he said. The government lowered the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10 in October 2024. As of 2024, there were 27,400 people aged between 10 and 17 in the NT. It means around 1.5 per cent of children in that age bracket spent time in NT watch houses over the six months. The statistics cover six NT watch houses, including the Peter McAuley Centre police headquarters in Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and Palmerston. Some are notoriously overcrowded, with windowless cells and the lights on 24 hours a day. They are meant to be used only as a stopgap place for the youths to be processed after their arrests, before they are delivered to a newly built youth detention centre in Darwin. Last week, the NT's Aboriginal legal aid service NAAJA revealed an 11-year-old girl had been left for a night and two days in the Palmerston watch house. In March, a 15-year-old girl was held in the Palmerston watch house for three nights after the local court ceased after-hours bail reviews for young people. The treatment of children in watch houses in Queensland has also been under scrutiny, with a state police review finding youths were spending an average of 161 hours in the facilities. As part of the ABC's FOI request, NT Police released data logs showing how long each child had spent in custody. The data indicated that, while the vast majority were in custody for less than 24 hours, some had spent up to 25 days at a time inside Palmerston watch house. Others were recorded to have been kept in watch houses for six, seven or eight-day periods. When asked to confirm the accuracy of the data, the NT Police spokesperson said it was erroneous: "The Northern Territory Police Force can confirm that the data provided does not accurately reflect the actual time youths have spent in custody. "While the report you received reflects what was recorded in the system at the time, it does not account for process variations that can affect how custody end times are calculated." The spokesperson said police could not provide an accurate time frame for each of the 870 custody cases, as it would require "a manual analysis of each custody incident". "No youths have been held in police watch houses for 25 days straight," they said. In November 2023, NT Police replaced its decades-old crime data IT software with a new system named SerPro. Initially budgeted at $45 million, the cost of rolling out SerPro increased to $58 million, and it's been plagued with issues since it began operating. Nathan Finn, the president of the NT's police union, said he was not surprised the time-in-custody data was erroneous, considering the issues police faced with the system. "Since the establishment of the SerPro system, we've seen a number of data issues and how that's been calculated," he said. "We've seen this and raised these concerns over a number of periods of time since the implementation of [SerPro]. "[SerPro] probably creates a 25 per cent increase in workload in managing a prisoner … within the custody facility." Mr Finn said it would be unprecedented for youths to be held for weeks at a time in watch houses. "We have youth that are in custody sometimes for two days or three days at maximum, depending on where they're remanded to and the availability of transferring them into a correctional facility," he said. He said the data issues needed to be fixed immediately. "If the police force is receiving this data and it's incorrect, how are they guiding their own policies and procedures?" he said. "How are they managing any risks that are identified, or any concerns that they may have in the custody space?" Mr Guyula agreed that the erroneous data needed to be fixed immediately. "We don't trust the information that we are being given," he said. "The police data shows some children are being held in watch houses for long periods, even weeks. "If the data is not correct, the police need to provide the correct data.
CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
Three charged after early-morning metal theft in Palmerston
Three people are facing charges after allegedly stealing metal from a business in Palmerston early Saturday morning. Wellington County Ontario Provincial Police were called just before 4 a.m. for a report of three males stealing metal from a local business. Police said the suspects fled the scene when officers arrived, but were later located and arrested. A 33-year-old from Listowel, a 35-year-old from Listowel and a 40-year-old from Atwood have all been charged with theft under $5,000, possession of break-in instruments and break and enter.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Have a chip on the old block
You've got a choice of fish or chip at this Top End escape, with fishing an easy five minute drive away and a fairway running across the 8ha block where you can chip away to your heart's content. The acreage block at 160 Venture Rd, Bynoe, is on the market through Ryan Rowsell of Ray White Palmerston, with a price guide of $680,000. Mr Rowsell said the block was the perfect weekender for enjoying the best of Territory living. 'It's the location that really makes it stand out,' he said. 'It's only a couple of minutes from the boat ramp and in the heart of some of the best fishing on offer. 'Plus there's the golf course. 'It may be just one hole … but I've never seen anything like it (on the Darwin market).' Homebuyers hot for these Darwin spots Aus' shocking list of untouchable suburbs The property comes with a fully coded, semi-elevated house that has recently been renovated, an in-ground pool, a barbecue area, a fire pit and two sheds. The three-bedroom home has a full length veranda, open plan living and dining and an updated kitchen with breakfast bar. Two of the bedrooms have built-in robes, there is a family bathroom and the master suite has a walk-in robe, ensuite and veranda access. Mr Rowsell said the golf green spanning the block was the centrepiece of the property. 'When you're not out fishing, you can find yourself right there working on your short game,' he said. The property has a big shed with hoist and bathroom, plus a second two-bay garage. There is native bushland on the block, along with established fruit trees, a green house, all weather access to the home and a gated front entry. 'It's an hour from the city yet you feel miles away from suburbia with fishing on your doorstep,' Mr Rowsell said. 'It's a property that really does have everything you could need, and it could be anything you want it to be. 'With the sheds, you could run a business from there, or it could be a weekender or an Airbnb.'
ABC News
22-07-2025
- ABC News
NT police watch house concerns continue as 11-year-old girl held overnight 'with the lights on 24 hours'
Children as young as 11 years old are being held overnight inside Northern Territory police watch houses "with the lights on 24 hours a day", in what the NT's Aboriginal legal aid service has described as a "breach of human rights". Anthony Beven, the acting chief executive of North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA), said he had recently visited an 11-year-old girl inside the Palmerston police watch house. "In some instances, we're seeing young people — as young as 11 — in [the] Palmerston watch house, being held … with the lights on 24 hours a day, in a cell by themselves, with adults in surrounding cells screaming, yelling," Mr Beven told ABC Radio Darwin on Tuesday morning. In the NT, children who are taken into custody should be transferred to a youth detention centre as soon as possible under a court order. Mr Beven's comments follow a warning from the NT's police union last week that a death or serious incident in custody was imminent under Palmerston watch house's overcrowded conditions. For months, the NT's corrections department has been housing a growing number of prisoners in police watch houses due to a lack of beds inside correctional facilities, as prison population numbers have climbed to a record high. There are currently about 100 people being held inside Palmerston watch house, including overflow corrections prisoners. NT Police Association president Nathan Finn said the overflow of prisoners inside watch houses had left police officers fearful for their own personal safety. "Our staff are struggling mentally, physically in looking after these prisoners," he told ABC Radio Darwin. Mr Finn said up to 16 people were being squeezed into one cell at a time, posing a risk to police officers in charge. "They're always worried about if something goes on in one of these cells," he said. An NT Police Force spokesperson said the organisation had started using a new 12-hour roster from July 17 for police officers inside the Palmerston police watch house, "to achieve maximum staff coverage". Mr Beven said in another recent incident, a woman who NAAJA claims was wrongly identified as a perpetrator of domestic violence spent five days at the Palmerston watch house. "This is a woman, who has been beaten severely, threatened with rape and she … took reasonable action, in our view, to defend herself," he said. Mr Beven said the woman was initially denied bail, despite having no criminal history as an adult, before later being bailed by a judge. One former detainee, who wished to remain anonymous, last week told the ABC the women's cells were stained with period blood because detainees were not allowed to take a shower. She also said a pregnant woman was denied medical care despite reporting stomach pains. Mr Beven said the situation at the Palmerston watch house was "coming to breaking point". NT Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley said he acknowledged the conditions inside police watch houses, and said the corrections department was racing to find more beds. "Yes, we're seeing pressure in the watch houses, but equally," he told ABC Radio Darwin. Commissioner Varley said the recently converted Berrimah adult prison in Darwin was originally expected to hold about 200 male prisoners, but was currently holding about 410. "We are in the process of commissioning new facilities there, and new works," he said. "We expect those to be online by [the] end of August, and that'll take capacity of that centre up by another 200 or so, to 640."
