What do you think? Prison guards man-handle a young native Australian.

by fulltimestudent 20 Replies latest social current

• 

  fulltimestudent

  The desert areas of central Australia, the so-called 'Red heart' of the nation, still has a significant population of original Australians. And many of them seem to have difficulty with the law.*

  That's a very brief and simplistic introduction to this video of prison guards in the Alice Springs jail, manhandling a young boy. Of course, the guards would have their own story to tell, and they need to be heard.

  But let's start with the video from the prison system:

  The link will take you to the ABC (the government owned national broadcaster of Australia). Click on the vidoe to watch.

  http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-18/guards-who-stripped-boy-in-detention-backed-by-nt-prisons-boss/5976986
• 

  fulltimestudent

  If you've watched the video and read the text, what do you think?

  Is the Children's Commissioner correct, when he says:

  "I can't say anything about the legality or otherwise of what I've seen, but I'm appalled from what I see from a practice perspective", he said.

  "There is no physical intervention training that authorises that sort of manoeuvre.

  "There should be no constricting or holding of the neck because it is extremely dangerous," Mr Bath said.

  Dr Bath acknowledged the incident involved a child who had threatened self-harm, but said the guards' actions were not an appropriate way to address the situation.

  "This aggressive and humiliating response is the way that is dealt with," he said.

  "I just find that incredibly sad in this day and age, that this is the response we provide to a young person in need.

  He said anyone subjected to the kind of treatment shown in the footage would be physically and emotionally harmed.

  'We all know that most of the young people that are in juvenile justice have had backgrounds of extreme trauma, these sorts of approaches to dealing with kids in distress are just going to traumatise the kids again," he said.

  "We just don't needs these sorts of responses.

  "I recognise that it can be very very hard with these young people, sometimes you may need to physically intervene but if that is the case it needs to be done with sensitive and care, and that is not what I see in this particular video," he said.
• 

  fulltimestudent

  Or, did the prison authorities just do the best they could with a difficult young boy:

  'I will not tolerate young people spitting on my staff'

  But the NT's Corrections Commissioner said his staff handled themselves appropriately under difficult circumstances.

  "You've got to look at the context of the issue, this about restraining some who was threatening self harm and I support the actions of the officer.

  "This young fellow... had a propensity to spit on staff and throw bodily fluids", he said.

  "One of the things he did quite regularly was spit on staff, so the action taken was to prevent him doing that while they were putting him into the safety gown."

  Commissioner Middlebrook said the officers needed to maintain order in youth detention.

  "We have to mange these people when they don't behave," he said.

  "No-one likes to us these sorts of methods, but if these young people don't behave then there are things we have to do.

  "I will not tolerate young people spitting on my staff, I will not tolerate them throwing bodily fluid or weapons, and if the staff need to constrain those people, that is what they have to do."
• 

  James Brown

  That is the business I was in and retired from a detention officer at the county jail.

  That is the way it goes.

  I don't see anything wrong with what they did.

  The youth threatened to harm himself,

  That is why his clothes had to be removed.

  Would you like to get spit in the face by someone who has aids or hepatitis?

  How do you know what his health status is when he was just booked in?

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  In the USA a criminals health status is not revealed to the guards.

  They told him to get dressed in the smock and he refused and he threatened to hurt himself

  so his clothes had to be removed.

  I don't see the guard putting all his weight on the boy, but if he did and that is what it takes to

  subdue the boy, and that is what you have to do.

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  The video looks like something I did many times.

  I have seen much worse.

  And I have known a lot of officers that were fired for much worse.

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  I have to conclude that Dr. Bath has no hands on practical experience in dealing with juvenile delinquents.

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  Book knowledge does not cut it in the real world.

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  The youth is in jail. He did not get there because he was helping a little old lady cross the street

  or because he sings well.

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  If he does not want that sort of treatment. He should not act that way.

  If he had parents that cared about him they would tell him that but the truth of the matter is

  most youth that end up in detention are street urchins they have no responsible parents.

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  Jesus, the bible and history says you will always have the poor.

  Being poor is a mental condition and this boys behavior and his parents behavior are the acting out of the mental

  condition of being poor.

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  The boy threatened self harm so his clothes had to be removed so he can not strangle himself with them.

  You cant just throw him in a room and wait for him to hang himself, which they do, then you have to go in

  and wrestle with them while they have a sheet or shirt or underwear around their neck.

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  When I was in the business, I am retired now, I did everything I could to keep the youth out of

  the predicament/situation the youth in the video is in. But you can not always avoid it.

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  These youth are on various meds on the street and because of poor parenting among other things

  they go off their meds and that is what gets them in jail. Then it escalates because they are off their meds.

  Maybe they should never be on meds to begin with. They probably just need a mother and father and guidance

  and discipline at home.

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  If I was on that shift working with those officers, I would have said" good job men, Well done'

  They tell us at the police academy that people with no practical experience just book knowledge

  (Dr. Bath)

  would be judging our actions over Fritos and Coke.

  I have to say we all know that going in.

  Its a job with good benefits and a retirement. That is why people do it.
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  Witness 007

  Fully agree "James Brown." I work in the mental health field and this was text book perfect what they did. Remove anything that can cause harm is standard. The kid was clearly unstable. Reasonable amount of force used. 10/10 perfect job! The kid is on drugs or mentally not well. I would have removed the matress he tore up but otherwise great job guys.
• 

  AlphaMan

  So what's the problem here? The detention guards did the best they could with an unruly boy. They simply held him down, so he could change clothes as instructed. The guards never did anything to hurt him. Just because they are guards doesn't mean they have to try to talk everyone into everything, or be at the mercy of anyone's whim to spit on them, bite them, punch, kick or scratch them.
• 

  sparrowdown

  Indigenous Australians, especially up north have many struggles with

  alcohol and drug abuse mental health issues crippling poverty and unemployment

  domestice violence, children born with feotal alcohol syndrome and the list goes on and on.

  This kind of generational abuse and dysfunction is so sad and I wish there were easy answers

  but sadly there are not. The police and guards have a difficult job to do .
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  Leeca

  l live and work in a very remote Aborigional Community, it's a real eye opener. Most Australians are clueless about what happens in the communities. There is some employment opportunities here but trying to get them to turn up to work can be difficult, hence why white people work in these communities. They just disappear during the day, not turn up for days or months on end. Makes your job more difficult, as you have to do their work as well as your own. You can end up hardly functioning yourself, completely exhausted. They call Welfare 'sit down money'. They can be very lazy, have no respect for the hard work you put in helping them. A very thankless job. They can be incredibly rude, and yes they do spit, anywhere and everywhere. Kids neglected, not taught boundaries, most parents don't care about kids education. (Some do but rare). It's a very tough gig being here, sometimes i just want to pack up and leave, some days you've just had enough. Enough whining for now lunch nearly over, time to go back to work and re - enter the twighlight zone.
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  sparrowdown

  That's sad to hear Leeca, I for one will say Thank you.
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  Julia Orwell

  Yep Leeca, heard it before. The aborigines have a different mentality to non- indigenous Australians and giving them sit-down money doesn't help.