Townsville magistrate orders children be released from watch house amid heated youth justice debate

Exclusive: Queensland Police Service ‘exploring its legal options’ after several children granted bail

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A Townsville magistrate has ordered the release of several children being held on remand in the city’s police watch house, amid growing human rights concerns at the treatment of young people within the Queensland justice system.

Guardian Australia has confirmed from multiple legal sources that on Thursday, a children’s court magistrate in Townsville asked that all children being held on remand in the watch house be brought before the court.