Authorities have said they had no choice but to relocate twenty male teenage prisoners from Banksia Hill to the states maximum security prison, Casuarina Prison.

The youngest amongst the rebellious group is 14 years of age, where they have been destroying centre infrastructure, routinely threatening the safety of staff and disrupting the Canningvale complex.

Corrective Services Minister, Bill Johnston, spoke with Gary Adshead on 6PR Mornings to discuss the reason behind his controversial and difficult decision.

“It was a major issue and we had to go through a lot of steps to make sure we were looking at it correctly,” he told Gary.

“It’s hard for me to explain in detail but these are obviously very troubled youth. You do not end up in Banksia Hill unless you’ve cased significant disruption to the community.”

Press PLAY to hear more on Bill Johnston reasoning behind the decision 

Inspector of Custodial Services, Eamon Ryan, further said he loses sleep over the mental well-being of young people in custody.

“It’s a pretty sad state of affairs that we get to the point where we are left with no choice but to put young people in a maximum security prison.”

Press PLAY to hear more on Eamon Ryan’s view on the decision