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Malmsbury riot: Teens escape youth detention centre

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Seven teens are on the run and 50 terrified staff were in lockdown for four hours after the latest riot at a youth detention facility near Castlemaine.

Fifteen detainees escaped from Victoria's troubled Malmsbury Youth Justice centre on Wednesday, stealing cars, ramming other vehicles and prompting police pursuits.

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Malmsbury riot: hunt for three stolen vehicles

Several inmates from the Malmsbury Youth Justice are believed to have carjacked two cars, a red hatch (registration 1HZ5UN) and a blue Falcon sedan (ZKV598). Police have also confirmed they are searching for a stolen white Suzuki SUV (personalised registration WILMAK). Call 000 if seen. Vision courtesy Seven News Melbourne.

Nine escapees led police on two high-speed pursuits of up to 150km/h, before police were called off.

Police captured two of the escapees in Malmsbury. It is believed they were found walking shirtless through paddocks about five kilometres from the detention centre.

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Do you know more? Did you see the car chase? Email scoop@theage.com.au.

Police were initially called to a disturbance involving around 30 inmates around 2.45pm.

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Police dressed in full riot gear and members of the Youth Justice Safety Emergency Response Team attempted to regain control of the facility.

The riot was described by a source as "the worst they had ever experienced" at the problem-plagued correction centre.

The source said the youths stole keys and a swipe card from a guard, before a "code white" (a riot) was called.

"Clients were bashing at the door with chair legs and other weapons, then used the swipe to open the door," the source said.

The staff were released at 7pm, after four hours in lockdown. 

At 8pm, police released a statement saying they had secured the facility.

A police car was rammed during the escape, according to media reports.

The 15 youths initially escaped by stealing a ute and ramming a fence at the detention centre.

The Malmsbury escapees reportedly smashed into another car on the Calder Freeway.

The escapees dumped the ute, then carjacked two cars, a red hatch (registration 1HZ5UN) and a blue Falcon sedan (ZKV598).

Police later confirmed they were also searching for a stolen white Suzuki SUV (personalised registration WILMAK).

A female motorist whose car was rammed on the Calder said the front end of her 4WD, on the driver side, was damaged.

She said two men ran towards her and tried to get into her vehicle by pulling and shaking the door handles.

"As soon as they spotted her (pointing to her granddaughter), they backed off," she told Nine News.

Police reportedly abandoned one high-speed pursuit after an allegedly stolen car started driving on the wrong side of the road on the Calder.

Superintendent Craig Gillard confirmed that 15 inmates were involved in the breakout.

"There were five youths climbing on the roof of the facility and additional 15 youths have breached the outside parameter of the facility," he said. 

"We had a number of incidents external to this facility, around theft of motor vehicles. They have had three motor vehicles involved in use by these youths, we believe. One vehicle came from car jacking on a highway, another vehicle has been involved in a petrol drive-off," he said.

"The incident is still live ... it is still incredibly fluid. We still don't have security here to the level we would like."

Teenagers from the Monash and Latrobe units were involved. The original stolen ute has been found abandoned.

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Members of the community are asked to call Triple Zero (000) if they see either of these vehicles and to avoid them.

The latest events come less than two weeks since police were forced to storm the centre after six inmates armed themselves in a secure unit. Four of those offenders have since been moved into the adult prison system.

On Wednesday, Fairfax Media revealed that the Andrews government was warned in an explosive secret report months before the latest riots in Victoria's youth prisons that the system was spiralling out of control in "a continued and ongoing threat to the safety of staff and clients".

Fairfax Media can also reveal that the man who ran the Parkville and Malmsbury youth justice facilities, Ian Lanyon, has recently been moved from his post, leaving an acting director in his place.

Fairfax was unable to reach him for comment.

On Wednesday, Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said Victoria's youth justice system was in crisis.

"These people are causing crime wave after crime wave," he said.

Mr Guy said Youth Affairs Minister Jenny Mikakos should resign if she could not fix the system.

Mr Guy said juvenile justice should be moved from the Department of Health and Human Services to the corrections portfolio.

with AAP

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