Queensland ombudsman backs away from closing youth prison amid crowding fears

Staff reported that some children, particularly Indigenous youth from north Queensland, engaged in self-harm to influence their transfer to other centers. The Wacol center, originally a police watch house, was converted to a youth detention facility and has, in some ways, eased pressure on police cells where children have been held for extended periods.

Critics argue the government has merely shifted the problem to Wacol. Reilly had previously advocated for the closure of the "austere and institutional" Wacol center once a new facility at Woodford opens. However, he has now revised this stance, warning that the upcoming bail reforms could cause youth detention populations to explode, potentially necessitating the continued use of Wacol to minimize detentions in police watch houses. He stated that while Wacol is unsuitable, it is preferable to police watch houses.

Sisters Inside, a support organization for women and girls in custody, condemned the ombudsman's backdown as a "gutless retreat," accusing him of allowing the government's agenda to dictate acceptable standards for child detention. The organization emphasized that a facility's unsuitability does not change based on the creation of a worse alternative and that children's safety should not be compromised for political reasons.