<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>334924</docID> <postdate>2024-12-09 11:02:52</postdate> <headline>No hugs in Bimberi ‘lacks humanity’</headline> <body><p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Since 2020, young inmates at Bimberi Youth Justice Centre have been denied hugs from family members, a direction Custodial Inspector Rebecca Minty says "lacks humanity".</strong></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In her second, independent review of the centre, Ms Minty says denying physical contact with family and friends during visits is "not the norm in adult or youth detention in Australia".</p> <p>"Some young people are detained in Bimberi for months or even years. Not allowing families to hug lacks humanity and is not what we should expect in the ACT," she says.</p> <p>Ms Minty reports that while the centre meets many relevant standards, an "overly cautious approach" is limiting outcomes for detained young people and the community.</p> <p>For example she says: "Centre management typically allows young people to leave only for health appointments, despite the law permitting leave for employment and education as well — key opportunities that can help prepare them for release and reduce the risk of reoffending."</p> <p>And: "The entire centre is locked down in response to every incident (including minor health incidents such as a rolled ankle playing sport). This can cause significant and unnecessary disruptions for centre operations and to young people feels like collective punishment."</p> <p>Ms Minty also called for the ACT to "immediately invest in in body scanning technology, as used in other jurisdictions. This would help keep the centre safe and avoid strip searching of young people".</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The report says that on an average day in 2022/23, there were 15 young people detained, most of them on remand and around one in three identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The review team included a public health physician, the former ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Advocate, a team member with lived experience of detention and an expert in detention monitoring.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong> </strong></p> </body>