Juvenile prisoners who escaped their cells two nights in a row have exposed weaknesses in Darwin's new $500 million detention complex, but the NT government says the facility is now secure.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old kicked in the door of the room they were being held in at the complex behavioural unit of the Darwin Correctional Precinct (DCP) and climbed onto the roof before being recaptured.
During lockdown on Monday evening, a 14-year-old and two 15-year-old boys overpowered two guards, stole their swipe card and climbed onto the roof in about five minutes, where they spent almost three hours before being talked down about 10pm.
"Once again we've had some of our little darlings go over the top. Fortunately, at no stage were they in any danger of actually escaping," NT Corrections Minister John Elferink told reporters on Tuesday.
He said the boys were part of a group who were particularly disruptive and violent.
"Some of these kids have reached a new nadir of behaviour, which this jurisdiction up 'til now has not been accustomed to," Mr Elferink said.
Three of the five boys were part of a group who escaped the previous Don Dale juvenile detention facility on August 2, and two of them were involved in a three-hour siege with staff on August 21 that resulted in tear gassing and the dog squad being called in.
But Mr Elferink said there were no fundamental problems with the design of the new prison.
The boys "exposed some weaknesses in the complex behaviour unit" and are now being held in maximum security in the adult prison, which is awaiting adult prisoners to be moved over from the old Berrimah jail, Corrections Commissioner Ken Middlebrook said.
He said the complex behavioural unit was not actually intended to house them, but rather to hold prisoners with psychiatric problems.
"We're using it for something it really wasn't designed for, but it's certainly superior to Don Dale and was the only option we had," Mr Middlebrook said.
"Yes, they got out of the building but they were contained. They didn't get out into the community."
He could not put a value on the damage done.
Two guards were hospitalised with head injuries after being assaulted by one of the boys on Monday night, one with a cut above his eye and the other who suffered a blow to the head.
They were in a good condition, Mr Middlebrook said.
The boys will be charged and will face court at a later date.
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