8 | Treatment of people in detention The Commission considers this to be a significant gap that needs to be urgently addressed; particularly as there has been a history of fires being lit during disturbances and the centre has been threatened by bushfire. The Commission considers the provision of BA training to the ERT team to be a necessity. RECOMMENDATION 27: The Department and Serco should provide breathing apparatus training to the centre’s Emergency Response Team. 8.2 Relationships with staff Most people interviewed told the Commission that, generally, they had not encountered any problems with Serco staff or other staff within the centre. One person interviewed said that staff at YHIDC were far better than at other centres. However, there were a few people who felt they had been harassed or intimidated by staff. They told the Commission that they were afraid of speaking out about it because they are allegedly threatened with having points deducted from them (points can be used to make purchases within the centre). Some people also disclosed that, if they reported incidents between themselves and staff, they felt nothing ever came of it. 52 When asked about staff training needs to support the detained population, Serco management advised that there had been recent changes to address an identified need for more mental health training. Despite this, one detained person interviewed explicitly stated that Serco staff needed ‘more mental health awareness.’ In one of the written submissions received, the Commission was additionally told that [clients] … repeatedly voiced concerns that Serco Officers do not understand their trauma and experiences and that this contributes to their sense of distress. A number of clients have reported that they have been required to repeatedly explain their trauma to Serco Officers, and explain why they cannot participate in certain activities that trigger a trauma response. The Commonwealth Ombudsman has also previously observed that the centre’s … detention service officers do not have the training or skills to provide a mental health response to detainees exhibiting mental health vulnerabilities or in crisis. The consequence of limited IHMS availability, particularly after hours, results in a securityfocused response rather than the required mental health response to detainees presenting with mental health vulnerabilities.92 Given the significant rate of severe, complex, comorbid mental health and substance use issues (see mental health section), it is essential to provide centre staff with adequate and ongoing training in this area.