澳大利亚研究人员对儿童在警方拘留所的羁押情况进行了调查，发现许多未成年人被关押在本非为其设计的设施中。研究采访了25名年龄介于15至24岁的土著和非土著青少年，以及18名专业人士[1]。其中最年轻的被羁押儿童仅10岁，平均年龄14岁[1]。
羁押时间之长令人担忧。近三分之二的受访青少年在警方拘留所至少待过三天，六分之一的受访者羁押时间达一周或更长[1]。上周进行的ABC调查显示，儿童在塔斯马尼亚警方拘留所被羁押超过300次（上一财政年度），其中一名儿童被单次羁押55小时[1]。
青少年们对拘留条件做出了严肃指控。他们描述了恶劣的羁押条件和缺乏尊重的对待[1]，土著青年还遭遇了种族歧视[1]。一名受访者表示："我不知道发生了什么...我不知道什么时候离开...我只是想——这将是我的余生"[1]。
这一问题并非新近出现。1983年，16岁土著男孩约翰·帕特在罗伯恩警察局拘留所死亡，随后引发了对土著人在羁押中死亡的皇家委员会调查[1]。令人注意的是，澳大利亚自2002年以来未进行全国范围内的警方拘留所调查[1]。虽然澳大利亚自2017年起签署了《禁止酷刑公约任选议定书》[1]，但这项制度性问题似乎仍待解决。
Australian researchers have found that children denied bail are frequently detained in police custody facilities unsuitable for young people, with some remaining in custody for weeks.[1] A study conducted by researchers Shelley J. Walker and Jocelyn Jones interviewed 25 Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth aged 15 to 24 and 18 professionals to examine detention conditions.[1] The findings reveal troubling patterns: nearly two-thirds of interviewed young people had spent at least three days in police custody, and one-sixth had been detained for a week or longer.[1] The youngest child detained was just 10 years old, with an average age of 14 among those in the study.[1]
Detainees described harsh conditions and treatment lacking dignity, with Indigenous youth reporting experiences of racial discrimination.[1] One teenager recounted the disorientation of confinement, stating: "I don't know what was happening... I don't know when I'm getting out... I just want—this will be the rest of my life."[1] Recent ABC investigations have documented the scale of the issue, showing that children were detained in Tasmanian police facilities over 300 times in the previous financial year, with one child held for 55 hours.[1]
The research highlights a longstanding gap in accountability.[1] Australia has not conducted a nationwide inquiry into police custody facilities since 2002, despite signing the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture in 2017.[1] The detention of children in police facilities carries particular historical weight in Australia, following the 1983 death of 16-year-old Indigenous boy John Pat at Roebourne Police Station, which prompted a royal commission investigation into Indigenous deaths in custody.[1]
