The Queensland Police Service has today confirmed, in black and white, what criminalised women, girls, and communities have been shouting for years: Queensland’s watch houses are sites of systemic human rights abuse.
‘The report details harrowing conditions endured by children and young people caged in these facilities—conditions the Queensland Government has long known about, enabled, and expanded. These are not isolated failures. These are not unfortunate oversights. These are deliberate choices made by police, upheld by politicians, and inflicted on the most vulnerable children in the state of Queensland,’ said Tabitha Lean, organising member of the National Network.
The National Network of Incarcerated & Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls is outraged but not surprised.
How could the Queensland government and police not have known?
- That children are being kept in windowless cells for days, weeks—even 21 days—in facilities built for 72-hour holds?
- That girls are being co-located with adults, denied education, left without health assessments, and fed inadequate, substandard food?
- That 1 in 4 assault allegations in watch houses involve children?
- That fluorescent lights are on 24/7, disrupting sleep and development, while children go without access to natural light, privacy, or even fresh air?
‘As we always say, these systems are not broken. The QPS is working exactly as designed—to punish and disappear our children, especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls,’ said Tabitha lean.
The data is damning:
- In 2024, 30% of girls in watch houses were held beyond 72 hours—up from just 7% in 2021.
- The average child now spends 161 hours in police custody—nearly 7 days in conditions meant for no more than 3.
- Most receive no education during this time, despite the clear protection of this right under the Queensland Human Rights Act 2019.
‘The Queensland Government can no longer hide behind ignorance. This report removes all doubt, and we expect them to act,’ said Tabitha Lean.
The National Network demands:
- An immediate end to the use of watch houses for children.
- A complete overhaul of the systems that criminalise children and funnel them into police custody.
- Investment in the leadership of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and girls to shape real, transformative solutions.
‘Enough is enough. The time for reviews and reports is over. This government cannot walk away from these findings without continuing to be complicit,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘We demand action. We demand justice. And we demand freedom for all of the children caged in Queensland watch houses and children’s prisons,’ said Tabitha Lean.
For further comment, please contact Tabitha Lean on 0499 780 226.
