The Four Corners episode featured edited footage and the episode did not discuss the teenagers' behaviour leading up to the incidents. People used their prejudices to fill in the gaps. People have widely varying views of authority figures like prison guards.

I suggest that the NT government should release more cctv footage to other media to allow for a more informed debate. I can't understand why they are content to have teenagers gassed of violently stripped naked, but see releasing video footage as an unacceptable breach of their privacy. They have an odd sense of perspective. Governments should not allow others to take so many free kicks at them.

I have personal aquaintence with quite a few boys who have been through this system in the NT and please believe they have been totally destroyed by their upbringing long before they are ever put in detention. And how people can ever expect guards to be able to get them to behave in a decent manner when the kids have no compunction about assaulting and stealing from their own families is beyond me.
Like all these kids in detention there, Dylan Voller had received multiple warnings, suspended sentences and good behaviour bonds before he was ever incarcerated. His eventual first time inside was for aggravated assault and assault at age 11.
Unknown by most of the community is that this boy had been receiving help from the government since age 8. After a traumatic violent early childhood he was put into weekend respite care in hotels, taken on outings, bought toys, given access to counselling etc. His sister now states that his problem is he was never made to accept consequences of his actions!
Equipment like restraint chairs and spit hoods are consequences!
Perhaps he would have turned out better if he been removed from his totally dysfunctional family at an early age and given to long term, decent foster parents.

thankyou Big Nana you are spot on. The Royal Commission will do absolutely nothing as it won't address the issues you bring up. It is a terrible system but no one can suggest what else can be done to these very violent albeit damaged individuals.

Hi there RUNNER & BIG NANA...

Both of you are quite correct when you say, many of these highly troubled youths come from totally dysfunctional families, the parents of which, really shouldn't be permitted to procreate at all ? They bring young innocent children into the world, and spend all their time ensuring they're turned into criminals. There should be significant punitive measures and consequences, for any and all parents who continually fail to provide their progeny with the very best standards of parenting available to them ! To do otherwise, is a crime in my view.

The number of kids I've witnessed sitting alone, in cold dark motor vehicles, while mum and dad are inside a club or pub getting pissed, is an absolute disgrace. Some parents leave five and six years old children alone at home, without leaving them any food or sustenance, or any form of responsible supervision, while they're out carousing 'til 0500-0700 next morning! And The authorities wonder why many of these damaged children, grow up to be thugs ?

One M/V we wheeled, early one morning c.0000h - 0200h , containing two adults and a couple of young children aged in single figures, the girl (who appeared the eldest) was happily drinking from Dad's can of beer, while he drove home ! A young female child sitting in the back, sucking on a tube of full strength beer, was quite immune to the reality, her Dad was stopped by police. It was well my temper was in check ! This was over twenty five years ago, when I was still wearing blue. What a way to raise a young child ?

In my experience, dealing with those children assigned as being 'delinquent' - First; nail-down the parents, in order to determine whether there's any culpability on their part. Secondly; then carefully scrutinize and investigate the children's situation. And I'd bet my fortnightly salary, there's a serious deficiency 'somewhere', with bad parenting ?

O sung wu

a couple of years ago I spoke to one young Indigenous bloke who has been in and out of juvie detention and then gaol. He was pleasant enough to talk to and still only in his early twenties. I asked him what he wanted to do in life. He told me to have 10 kids from 10 different women (I am not joking). And activist are dumb enough to ask why the rate of incarceration for the Indigeneous is rising. Nothing at all to do with racism but everything to do with internal Indigeneous ideology largely created by the secular/welfare state. Another very costly and tragic failed socialist policy.

For those who are interested, the incident where a guard stripped young Dylan was the subject of a court case and appeal. The first judgement is linked from the Crikey website. The judgement in the appeal is available on the NT Attorney General's website, in Supreme Court decisions from 2014, with the title Edwards V Tasker.

Poor record keeping was identified and cctv footage disappeared and reappeared. However, I believe that natural justice was served.