Construction on the Wacol Youth Remand Centre is progressing rapidly after it was fast-tracked to help reduce the number of young people in watchhouses.
The Queensland Police Service (QPS), in close consultation with the Department of Youth Justice and partners, specially designed the state-of-the-art facility to best support young people in custody and help minimise the time they are held in watchhouses.
The centre’s superstructure is now fully constructed, and the modular cells have been installed in two detention wings. Construction is progressing on time and the facility is expected to be ready for operational commissioning in December.
More than $250 million in funding was committed to the project in late 2023 and close to $150 million has been allocated by the state government to operate the facility over the first three years.
The centre is being constructed directly opposite two existing youth detention centres, to provide young people with essential education, health care and rehabilitation services.
It will initially be operated by the Department of Youth Justice, increasing the number of youth detention beds until the new youth detention centre opens at Woodford.
The Wacol centre will include 76 detention beds, alongside several internal and open-air exercise yards.
Acting Police Commissioner Shane Chelepy visited the centre today to inspect the progress of the build.
“The speed at which this project has been delivered is credit to the Queensland Police Service members, stakeholders and contractors involved,” Acting Commissioner Chelepy said.
“The 76-bed state-of-the-art centre will help minimise the time that young people are held in police watchhouses and help youth access essential education and therapeutic services while in detention.
“The facility is in an excellent location, close to the current youth detention centre, allowing for easy access to a range of government services.”
Assistant Commissioner Matthew Vanderbyl said the centre would alleviate the pressure on watchhouses.
“The amount of time young people are spending in watchhouses is a concern for the QPS and we are actively looking at ways to reduce it as part of an ongoing internal review of watchhouses,” Assistant Commissioner Vanderbyl said.
“Not only will this facility help minimise the time young people spend in watchhouses, it will also provide them with vital support services to try to break the cycle of youth offending.”
