Page 4675 - Week 12 - Thursday, 1 November 2018
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operational lockdown at Bimberi is when a decision has been made to secure all or some young people in their rooms for a period of time. Operational lockdowns are used to ensure the safety of young people and staff at Bimberi based on a number of factors, including the number of young people in Bimberi at the time; cohorts of young people and their risk classification, co-offenders, gender, age, victims and social dynamics; and the number of staff on site to accommodate the number of young people.
As I have mentioned on numerous occasions in this place, the decision to undertake an operational lockdown is not taken lightly and can only be authorised by a member of the senior management team. During a lockdown, while in their rooms, young people have access to television and to reading and educational material. Lockdowns occur for the minimum amount of time possible to ensure the safe operation of Bimberi.
Members may recall from my previous statements that Bimberi was in the process of a recruitment drive in 2017-18. I am pleased to say that 18 new youth workers have been welcomed to the centre in the last six months. Since 14 May 2018, when new youth workers became operational, there has only been one one-hour operational lockdown at Bimberi.
While the report includes measures relating to safety and security, it also has a strong focus on education programs and community engagement, because the core purpose of Bimberi is rehabilitation, providing young people with the supports and services they need to turn their lives around. Young people in detention at Bimberi are supported to maintain engagement in education, build and maintain family ties, and develop the living skills they need to reintegrate successfully into the community.
The Murrumbidgee Education and Training Centre at Bimberi provides a range of education and vocational programs, including recognised certificate programs, tutoring, and transitional support back into the community through an individualised and tailored approach. Since 2011, almost 200 young people have received nationally recognised qualifications through the education centre in a variety of areas, such as construction, hospitality, business, horticulture, life skills and fitness, as well as year 10 and year 12 certificates.
While custody days at Bimberi increased by 36 per cent between 2016-17 and 2017-18, the number of visits by family and friends increased by almost 147 per cent. This demonstrates the commitment of Bimberi management and staff to supporting family and social connections for young people as part of their rehabilitation. I am passionate about ensuring we have a youth justice system that is rehabilitative and provides opportunities for young people. I wish to thank those who work tirelessly to support some of our most vulnerable children and young people, including the 48 agencies that have provided a service within Bimberi during 2017-18.
Earlier I noted that caution should be taken when interpreting data in this headline report because it uses unpublished data which has not been cleansed by an external agency. This was also the case for the report tabled in March 2018. The Bimberi headline indicators report March 2018, updated as at October 2018, which I have also
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