DRUGS, DEATH THREATS IN JUVENILE JAIL

The Kariong detention centre on the Central Coast, a maximum security
prison for juveniles, is being investigated over allegations including rape
and death threats, the supply of drugs to prisoners and entrenched cronyism.

Some workers say Kariong - which houses about 48 prisoners aged 13 to 21
who have committed serious crimes - has become a place of "intimidation and
fear".

The inquiry has already resulted in disciplinary action against as many as
a quarter of the staff and the appointment of a manager to oversee urgent
reforms.

The internal inquiry by the Department of Juvenile Justice has not been
made public and has only been revealed through leaked documents obtained by
the Herald. Staff at Kariong demanded a meeting with the department's
director-general, Mr Ken Buttrum, last October where they outlined their
allegations, including claims that prisoners were regularly supplied with
illegal substances such as marijuana and steroids by staff to solicit
favours and "easy shifts".

There was also cronyism, death threats to staff, abusive phone calls at
home, systematic sexual harassment, and the supplying of pornography to
prisoners, they said.

Staff had received numerous "needle stick" injuries from booby-trapped
syringes filled with blood.

Female workers have described being threatened with rape and other forms of
sexual harassment while unpopular staff members were deliberately left
without support during dangerous incidents with detainees.

The documents reveal that Mr Buttrum ordered a panel of investigators to
examine the claims.

They show that last November, several weeks into the investigation, he told
staffthat "already it is clear that the centre's operations will have to be
improved in significant ways to prevent the recurrence of problems brought
to our attention".

In December, Mr Buttrum said in a letter to staff that the problems were
being caused by a minority of staff, who he said would be "dealt with
appropriately in due course".

The problems were a result of "inadequate systems of staff support,
supervision, teamwork and advocacy".

His office confirmed yesterday that the investigation was continuing.

A spokesman said that Mr Buttrum had given the new manager a plan to reform
training, staff supervision and grievance procedures.

The allegations are almost identical to the failings identified in all nine
NSW juvenile justice centres in a scathing report by the NSW Ombudsman in
1996.

The 760-page report by Ms Irene Moss concluded that the Department of
Juvenile Justice had conducted itself in an unreasonable and oppressive way
by failing to protect the rights of its detainees or ensure proper training
for staff.

The year-long inquiry uncovered a culture of nepotism and cronyism in
employment practices, with powerful cliques of staff using intimidation,
sexual harassment and standover tactics to ensure that workers "toed the
line".

Mr Buttrum said in 1996 that many of the 239 recommendations from the
inquiry were already being implemented and promised reform at all centres.

But the present allegations paint an alarming picture of the culture at
Kariong.