Uncle of Geraldton boy wants proof organisations are preventing youth crime after 10yo remanded in Banksia

The family of a 10-year-old boy who was remanded in custody in Banksia Hill for days with no new charges says someone needs to be held accountable and the boy should be compensated. Three boys aged 10, 11 and 14 were arrested on Saturday, January 13 for an alleged burglary at a pensioner’s property in Spalding. Among them was another 10-year-old boy, who was locked up because he was at the same address as the others and breached his curfew. All four appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Sunday when they were remanded in custody and flown to Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre. The children received bail when they appeared in Geraldton Children’s Court on Tuesday, January 16 by video link. Geraldton magistrate Matthew Walton questioned why the 10-year-old’s case wasn’t dealt with sooner. He said it was “simply wrong” for the 10-year-old to be locked up for days. “My respectful view is it should have been dealt with immediately,” he said. The 10-year-old’s uncle, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child, spoke with the Geraldton Guardian last week. He said those responsible for locking the boy away without new charges should be held accountable. “I don’t think it’s good enough, I’m very concerned for any child sent to Banksia on bail, especially when we have a bail facility here in Geraldton,” he said. He said following Meekatharra teenager Cleveland Dodd’s death in custody in October last year, more needed to be done to protect children from ending up in detention. “What the system is doing is setting up a recipe for disaster similar to the young lad who took his life,” he said. “The magistrate made the decision, or whoever it might have been, made the decision to remand this child in custody who wasn’t involved in that particular offence . . . the system needs to be held accountable.” The man said the 10-year-old should be compensated by the State for what has occurred and hoped government-funded organisations were putting programs in place to keep children out of custody. “Don’t get me wrong, a lot of the children are getting themselves into trouble. It’s time for the agencies who are supposed to be providing a service to the community and to these children to stand up and start providing a service, not just lip service,” he said. “All the agencies that put their hand up for funding for the diversion of youth from the criminal justice system. Youth Justice, any Aboriginal organisation that receives funding for crime prevention, those people that sit in those seats should be held accountable. “They need to be able to demonstrate that they are trying to prevent these children from reoffending.” WA Police and a spokesperson for the courts declined to comment. Lifeline 13 11 14