Victoria's youth justice system has plunged into further crisis with the director of prison schools forced to take leave while the government conducts a secret investigation into his actions.
Brendan Murray, the executive principal responsible for educating Victoria's young prisoners, is under investigation for providing an email to human rights lawyers that cast doubt over the government's decision to send young inmates to a maximum security unit inside the adult Barwon Prison.
The government defended the controversial Barwon move as a necessary last resort due to the destruction caused by riots at the Parkville Youth Justice Facility.
But Mr Murray's email suggested there were other options to remand young prisoners. It was cited in the successful court case run by the Human Rights Law Centre on behalf of the under-age prisoners.
Mr Murray's sidelining comes just days after youth justice system chief Ian Lanyon was pushed from his role.
Victoria's youth justice system is now without its two key leaders, despite facing its most serious crisis in years.
In an attempt to wrest back control of the law-and-order debate, the state government on Friday announced that 40 armed guards from adult prisons would be able to use weapons to respond to riots and major disturbances in youth facilities.
It also repeated its commitment to build a new high-security youth jail as the opposition said the moves should have been made many months ago, and pushed for an even tougher regime involving the "naming and shaming" of recidivist young offenders.
The predicted hardening of the youth prison system – which may require changes to Victorian laws designed to protect young people – and the tough-on-crime political rhetoric has alarmed youth justice experts who are concerned it may undermine programs to rehabilitate young prisoners before they re-enter the community.
Meanwhile, a Fairfax Media investigation can reveal more evidence that the Andrews government was warned years ago that the youth justice system was in dire need of reform.
Jenny Mikakos held a confidential meeting with a youth justice senior officer after becoming minister in November 2014 and was told that serious incidents, including assaults, were being improperly reported or downplayed, and that problems in the system were far greater than publicly known.
Ms Mikakos has confirmed that she was briefed and that she subsequently raised the allegations with Mr Lanyon.
"I was very keen to explore the accuracy of those concerns," the minister told Fairfax Media.
On Wednesday, just hours before a riot and inmate escape at the Malmsbury youth detention centre that included carjackings and several serious assaults, Fairfax Media published the contents of a secret May 2016 government report that warned the youth justice system was spiralling out of control and that staff and inmates were exposed to harm.
The public debate has focused on the inadequacy of youth jail infrastructure and a court system struggling to deal with a cohort of extremely volatile and recidivist young prisoners, but the management of teen prisoners and violent incidents inside the facilities is also under intense scrutiny.
Commissioner for Children Liana Buchanan is preparing a parliamentary report into allegations that entrenched staffing problems inside youth jails has led to prisoners being improperly subject to lockdowns or isolation, where they are held in their cells for long periods and unable to access education or other programs.
Experts, including the consultant commissioned last year by state government to examine problems at Parkville, warn that the overzealous use of lockdowns and isolation may fuel serious unrest among prisoners and undermine security.
Ms Buchanan is believed to be frustrated about the amount of access to information provided by the department. She declined to comment about this, but said greater accountability was needed if the government was serious about fixing the system.
"I do think there's value in increasing transparency, to give us real clarity on what's happening in youth justice – what the trends are, what the problems are – so we can anticipate any issues," she said.
The Human Rights Law Centre is preparing to launch another legal challenge over the decision to send young inmates to a wing at Barwon, which is also facing major staffing problems and a reliance on lockdowns.
"Locking children up for 21 or more hours a day in small concrete cells in an adult maximum security prison is morally wrong and undermines community safety," HRLC director Hugh de Kretser said.
According to sources from the Department of Health and Human Services, Mr Murray is under investigation for providing an email to the HRLC. The email was sent before the HRLC's December Supreme Court challenge, and revealed there were spare beds at the Malmsbury Youth Justice Facility.
The government insists those beds cannot be safely used. The department sources said Mr Murray is the subject of a witch-hunt because the information potentially undermined the government's stance.
Mr Murray, who could not be contacted, set up Parkville College in 2012 and oversees 130 teachers and support staff responsible for reforming and rehabilitating young offenders across multiple campuses and at Barwon. In a statement, an education department spokesman declined to comment on the case, other than saying an "experienced assistant principal is ensuring the ongoing provision of educational programs".
Public sector union secretary Karen Batt said the union had been calling for a purpose-built youth facility for years to better protect staff and clients by separating offenders with complex behavioural issues.
"This would allow a step up/step down process within the system so good behaviour can be rewarded and bad behaviour punished," Ms Batt said.