Jamet - Justice In Time: Girls in Australian Juvenile Detention

Justice In Time

Delphine Jamet

BCrimnlgy&Just + BSocSc(CrimJustice)

www.streetkidindustries.com

First published in April 2016

Copyright Delphine Jamet, 2016

Editing by Lori L.

Cover design by Valerija Balaz

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10% of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency (CAL) under the Act.

Published by Streetkid Industries PO Box 356

Leederville WA 6903

Australia

(Not accepting submissions at present) www.streetkidindustries.com

Cover and text design by:

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National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Jamet, Delphine

Justice In Time

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1. Street Children Western Australia Perth.

2. Juvenile delinquents Western Australia Perth. 3. Street Children Western Australia Perth Interviews.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This story is based on events taken from taken from Caseys journal Most of the names in the stories have been changed
but locations remain the same.

It attempts to help you understand why and how

some girls end up in juvenile detention and on the streets.

Living on the streets can be very dangerous. Dont go there!
If you hate living at home, or you have trouble with your teachers, get help and talk
to someone.

This book is in memory of Chelsea Lowry, Noongar Terry, Theo, Gay John and all
the people I once knew, more than fingers I have to count. I will continue to write
about the social issues that touched their hearts, and I thank them for all the memories, both good and bad.

Books by Delphine Jamet

The Streetkid Industries Series

1. Streetkid In The City Perth streetkids and the homeless (2001) 2. Deep Into Dark Perth streetkids and the homeless (2011) 3. Justice In Time Girls in Juvenile Detention (2016) 4. No Fixed Address Youth Homelessness in Victoria - unpublished 5. Up The Terrace Perth bicycle courier scene unpublished 6. Pilbarian Life on the mines of Port Hedland - unpublished 7. Pilbarian 2 Life on the mines of Newman - unpublished

Thirteen years ago during my training for Youth Custodial Services, I was encouraged to treat all young people in our care the same, in the interests of fairness and, of course, a relatively peaceful working life.

To this end I was actively discouraged from investigating a young persons charges. This made a lot of sense in terms of providing our young people with an even playing field. What it didnt do was offer custodial staff or the other children any additional protection from young people charged with crimes such as sexual assault or GBH. There is a second school of thought that suggests it is in a public officers best interests to make themselves aware of these precedents.

Eventually ending up in the Family Liaison Unit and handling warrants on a daily basis, I was privy to young peoples charges, as well as the warts and all details appearing on the relevant Statements of Material Facts. This meant being blissfully ignorant of a young persons charge history quickly became a luxury of the past.

Similarly, a young persons family and social situation went from a vague shadow lurking in the background, to something very real, alien (to me) and oftentimes disturbing.

Reality hit hard on a number of occasions, but never more than the time I performed a welfare check on a girl who had not rung the Centre as per the conditions of her bail. The welfare officer and I drove to her address in the southern suburbs only to discover first-hand the very difficult personal circumstances she was confronted with.

The girl and her grandmother had been locked out of the family home by her uncle (who was also allegedly her pimp). They were sleeping in the carport, protected in mid-winter only by a tarpaulin, and unable to access the landline inside. This was in the not too distant past when mobile phones werent as ubiquitous as they are today. The experience served as a grim reminder that children in custody arent all ratbags, but very much a product of their environment.

The kids in our care are a constant reminder of the hardships the overwhelming majority of them face. The blistering pace in which some of young people breach their bail or parole (Supervised Release Order) serves as a not too subtle reminder of their personal circumstances and the relative comforts of food, bed, shelter, health, dental care, not to mention the pseudo parental role-models provided on the Youth Custodial side of the revolving door.

Confronted with this on a daily basis, it is rare for someone working on the front line of Youth Custodial Services to hear about the success stories, never mind try and put a statistic to them. But they do exist.

Like the young lady who ignored the nagging pull of her familys bad influence, completed a hospitality course while in detention, and went on to become a barista and eventual front-of-house manager in the community. Or, the notorious young male seen suited up and talking animatedly on his blue tooth at the domestic airport, presumably having turned things around and now a successful cog in the machinations of Corporate Australia.

Delphine Jamet nailed it in her previous book on the subject of Youth Justice (Deep Into Dark), and in her latest volume provides another uncanny insight into the lopsided harsh reality faced by young females in detention.

Through her vivid and lifelike characters, Delphine provides living, breathing proof that with youth on your side, it is possible to apply the brakes on the revolving door of youth detention.

WNW 2015

9.14 am

As strong as the wind As vibrant as the ocean The land so free

Is what means to me

A symbol of freedom

The pleasure of peace Im locked up tight

But one day I might

Taste the scent of happiness Forever and for always Ill be there one day.

Hayley Nicole Stevenson

Sunday 14 May

The country is endless. Dry paddocks of nothingness line the landscape outside of the bus window. An occasional white shed peeks from behind bushes. We have passed two main types of scenery as the bus had driven along this everlasting route - the dry bushes with the pure Australian look, leaves all over the ground, the dry heat making it look like a dead mans land and the acres of endless yellow fields spreading out with trees sprinkled here and there and the hills remaining peaceful in the background. Im on my way to Adelaide from Perth. Three hours and three minutes into it out of the thirty-seven or so hours.

My original plan was to stay one month in Adelaide, one month in Melbourne and then move to Queensland. I think Ill give Sydney a miss. The Olympic Games will rule the city, and it will take months to regain its normal living style, if ever. Millions of people will flock there from every corner of the world. You wont even be able to go to the local pub, it will be packed out!