After a night spent behind bars, I’ve returned to civilian life, writes B&T’s Oliver Cerovic.
At approximately 7:15 am on Friday morning, the gates of Yasmar Detention Centre swung open and I emerged into society a changed man. Not because I’d discovered inner peace, mastered the prison economy or successfully tunnelled my way to freedom with a chisel hidden inside a copy of a B&T annual.
But because after just one night in detention, I realised something confronting: the rest of Australia needs to catch up to the ACT and raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 at a bare minimum.
My criminal resume remains embarrassingly thin. I didn’t join a gang. I didn’t start a black market. I didn’t even successfully negotiate for an extra breakfast. What I did gain however was a small glimpse into a reality thousands of young Australians experience every day (8,982 in fact) and a much deeper appreciation for the organisations working to keep them out of the justice system in the first place.
Did you know it costs $1.3 million a year to lock up a child in Australia? And all this money has to show for it is a ‘revolving door’. After being released from sentenced detention 85 per cent return within 12 months.
This is just wasting money and the rehabilitation process is clearly not working.
That is why my boss David Hovenden and I got locked up with 80 advertising industry professionals last night for UnLtd’s Adland Bail Out.
As part of this process we were forced to hand over our belongings (including our phones), put on some prison scrubs, and give up our freedom for the night.
The guards, including B&T’s very own Arvind Hickman and Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham, set out to make every moment feel deliberately punishing.
They barked orders at us to drop for push-ups without warning, hurled insults like “dumb criminals” across the yard, and demanded we strip any trace of expression from our faces. It was a constant barrage of noise, control, and humiliation.
A small but confronting glimpse into the relentless pressure a child as young as 10 in detention endures everyday.
What really upset me however wasn’t the treatment, rather the lived experiences that were shared in the challenging workshops that revealed lived-experiences of people who have spent time behind bars.
We heard from Jonathon and Lincoln who represented Raise The Age; Elle, who is music teacher from Australian Children’s Music Foundation (ACMF) who told a very confronting story of a young inmate called Isaac; Jordan, AJ, Daniel, Dom and Evan from Musicians Making a Difference (MMAD); and Stephen Cain from Empathy Not Sympathy
A common thread ran through every story. Unstable and unsafe home environments during childhood, where safety wasn’t guaranteed and support was completely absent. For many, that foundation of instability became the starting point of a far more damaging trajectory. Without guidance, protection, or anyone to rely on, things gradually spiralled into cycles of survival, self-destruction, and eventually crime.
Hovenden also agreed that the most confronting part of the night was hearing first hand the lived-experiences.
“Meeting the likes of Steve Cain from Empathy not Sympathy, a man who was gaoled first at the age of 12, was equal parts devastating, enraging and inspiring. A true testament to the human spirit,” the big man told me after we emerged from our cells.
“And then the other people we met who are fighting the injustices of the criminal legal system and offering hope and support to vulnerable youth were top-notch individuals.
“Youth incarceration is a serious blight on Australian society and leads to more criminals and less safe society. The fact that kids as young as 10 are thrown in gaol is the real crime.
“I’m thrilled to have played a part in raising awareness of this ongoing travesty and hoped the funds we raised help make a difference. It’s not too late to donate.”
As part of being released all inmates had to raise $1500. Together we raised $149,000—$1000 off our target—so UnLtd has decided to keep the donation page open for another week. Please help us hit our goal by donating here. All donations are greatly appreciated!
This money will be used for UnLtd’s work campaigning to break the vicious cycle of youth incarceration. Including help fund the ‘Raise the Age NSW’ campaign, which helps prove to to the NSW Government that there is a better way to create safer communities and better outcomes for children.
