Kurlana Tapa-what’s in a name?
The Youth Detention Centre in South Australia is called Kurlana Tapa.
‘Kurlana Tapa’ means ‘new path’ in the language of the Kaurna people, the traditional owners and custodians of the beautiful Adelaide plains in South Australia.
It’s not right that the Youth Detention Centre has an Aboriginal name.
This is not a sign of cultural respect.
That Aboriginal young people are the majority of kids in young detention is deeply shameful and it is shameful for us to sanction that by using an Aboriginal name.
This is cultural misappropriation.
Youth detention doesn’t put anyone on a ‘new path’ that they would want to go down.
Odds on they return to juvie. Odds on they end up in adult prison.
Imagine if we offered Aboriginal kids a new path here in South Australia - a real kurlana tapa, a Kurlana Tapa worthy of its name.
The best Youth Justice systems in the world are doing things very differently - and it works.
Many countries in western Europe provide community-based secure care centres, run by non-government organisations. These centres aim to connect kids to their local communities, keep them busy, and help them find a positive place to belong.
Scotland has recently achieved the milestone of NO children under age 18 in detention institutions or prisons in the entire country.
One of the shining examples of global good practice is the Diagrama model in Spain. Set up by psychologists and educators it takes its therapeutic model seriously. It has been running successfully for over 20 years, now providing over 35 centres across Spain. The well-trained staff are mostly educators and mentors who really get to know the kids well-they eat meals together, work together and play together. Comprehensive assessments by the tech teams of psychologists and social workers make sure every child’s unique needs are considered, including those with mental health or cognitive concerns.
While security guards are present in small numbers, they are very much in the background. Security incidents are rare. Why? Because the centres create a strong culture of respect and trust.
Kids work hard to earn rewards, to be trusted to spend time in their community during the day, to go to work or school in community, and even to attend social events.
They are kept busy from morning til night; there is no lockdown time in rooms.
Soft on crime? No way. These young people have to work really hard to earn their privileges. If they play up, they lose them. For most kids, by the second half of their sentence they are learning how to be in community safely and responsibly, doing normal things, being part of their local community.
Recidivism (return to custody) rates for the Diagrama model are less than 20% over 6 years - way lower than any jurisdiction in Australia.
Importantly, secure community care also cost less than our detention centred model.
The upshot is that communities are safer, and victims’ rights are respected too.
At the same time the human rights and potential of young people to flourish responsibly in community is valued. What’s not to like?
Not too hard, not too soft-Just Right.
The Diagrama Model: https://www.justicehub.com.au/article/the-diagrama-model-a-transformative-approach-to-youth-justice
Diagrama video: https://youtu.be/9g8F8ueBm9s
Diagrama proposed NT Model: https://goodmobmadsystem.org/resources/project-five-jkmzy-r7zkr
Scotland: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78ljg04818o
https://thejusticemap.substack.com/p/scotland-has-gotten-all-children