Australian state to build high-security juvenile prison amidst youth crime crisis

The Victorian government of Australia intended to build a hundred-million dollar youth justice center in the wake of the state's youth crime epidemic.

The new high-security center will be built by the government in Werribee South, 40 kilometers south-west of Melbourne, after the state's other juvenile detention facilities have been plagued by violent riots and escapes over the last 12 months.

The Werribee South facility, reported to cost 190 million U.S. dollars, will house 250 juvenile offenders and was commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) six months ago after repeated warnings about overcrowding at the facilities in Malmsbury and Parkville.

The new facility will include a high-security unit for the state's worst offenders but the location has caused an uproar from residents of the area.

When finished, the center will double the state's capacity to hold youth offenders and will cast doubt over the ongoing operation of the Parkville center which has been severely damaged in riots.

Victoria's youth justice crisis came to a head in January when 15 teenagers overpowered a staff member at the Malmsbury facility and stole a set of keys to escape.

After the escapes Victoria's Families and Children Minister Jenny Mikakos said the new facility would be "fit for purpose" and would be built with special features to handle inmates with complex behavior problems.

"Victoria is going to get a fit-for-purpose, high-security youth justice system and there will be more beds in that system than we have at the moment," Mikakos said at the time.

The announcement came as the DHHS spent 380,000 U.S. dollars on Wednesday to change the locks at Malmsbury after a series of breakouts. Endit