Three detainees climbed onto the roof of Western Australia’s Banksia Hill Detention Centre on Friday evening, damaging parts of the facility and taunting staff with bricks before descending overnight without injuries, the Department of Justice said. Aerial footage showed riot-equipped officers monitoring the standoff at the state’s main youth prison, almost a year after a similar rooftop protest kept three teenagers on the roof through the night.
Corrective Services Minister Hannah Beazley condemned the behaviour as completely unacceptable and said an investigation is under way. A department spokesperson said staff managed the incident with minimal disruption and that the three young people came down voluntarily, leaving only minimal infrastructure damage.
What viewers saw from the air
Television helicopters captured at least one detainee kicking an air-conditioning unit and another holding a brick while officers in riot gear gathered below. Broken windows and debris inside a trashed room were visible from above. The department did not confirm whether the group breached multiple internal areas or how long they were on the roof before the standoff ended.
Banksia Hill holds sentenced and unsentenced children aged 10 to 17 and is the only dedicated juvenile detention centre in Western Australia apart from a high-security unit at adult Casuarina Prison. Indigenous young people are heavily over-represented in the population, and a class action by current and former detainees remains active.
Political and advocacy response
Opposition corrective services spokesperson Adam Hort said the scenes were disturbing and asked what the minister would do before summer heat intensifies inside the aging compound. At least six detainees staged a comparable rooftop protest in late November last year, prompting additional fencing on parts of the roof.
Youth justice advocate Gerry Georgatos said the facility fails marginalised children who need mentorship rather than containment, citing estimates that 70 to 80 percent of detainees later graduate to adult incarceration. The state government points to more than A$220 million invested since mid-2022, including a A$156 million high-risk unit slated to open in 2028 alongside urgent A$67 million site upgrades due this year.
Context and what comes next
Banksia Hill has weathered repeated riots, including a 2023 disturbance that then-premier Mark McGowan labelled a form of terrorism and that ended when armed guards confronted teenagers at close range. Ministers say many operational problems have since eased, but Friday’s episode shows rooftop protests remain a pressure valve for detainees.
Investigators will now review CCTV, staff use-of-force decisions and whether security upgrades after last year’s protest were sufficient. Beazley faces questions in parliament about staffing levels and recreation time, while advocates argue the rooftop images are evidence that punishment-centric policies are not reducing repeat escalations.