The death of an Indigenous teenager who self-harmed while in custody has reignited calls for improvement and change in the justice system.

October 23, 2023

West Australian Premier Roger Cook says the justice system needs to do better following the death of an Indigenous teenager who self-harmed in the youth wing at an adult prison.

Officers discovered 16-year-old Cleveland Dodd in the Unit 18 youth detention facility at Perth’s Casuarina Prison in the early hours of October 12, after he contacted them through the intercom.

He was taken to a Perth hospital in critical condition, where he later died.

Mr Cook on Monday said the situation was “not good enough”.

“We’ve let that young detainee down and as a result of that we need to continue to learn and we need to improve,” he said.

“What we do need to do is to make sure that we do better.”

Mr Cook said Corrective Services did not currently have enough resources.

“We’re hamstrung by infrastructure. We’re hamstrung by availability of staff,” he said.

“But we want to continue to work with the staff we’ve got and recruit others to make sure that we do better.”

He said he didn’t want youths to be detained in the maximum-security men’s prison but it was necessary after several riots caused extensive damage at Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre.

“Unit 18 is not what we want. It’s not where we want but it is one of the necessities of our response to the situation in Banksia Hill,” Mr Cook said.

Cleveland was the first child to die in WA juvenile detention in the state’s history.

His death is being investigated by the Department of Justice and the coroner.

The Corruption and Crime Commission has also commenced an investigation following allegations of serious misconduct.

The state Opposition called on the Cook government to close Unit 18.

“It is incredulous that four days after the tragic death of a 16-year-old boy, the premier is still reflecting and talking about what could be done, instead of making decisions,” corrective services spokesman Peter Collier said.

“I don’t know how much more serious it needs to get for the premier and his minister to admit this unit is not safe. It is not rehabilitating these kids and they need to act now to shut it down.”

The Justice Reform Initiative said Unit 18 and Banksia Hill should be closed “to prevent further harm to the children being held there”.

“We are heartbroken for Cleveland Dodd’s family and community, who expressed concern for his welfare in multiple settings and yet were let down by a system that failed them,” executive director Mindy Sotiri said.

“We cannot accept keeping children locked in facilities we know are harming them, and we cannot accept more government inaction.”

Dr Sotiri called on the WA government to urgently provide a timeline to close Unit 18 and Banksia Hill and commit to alternatives outside of the justice system that address disadvantage and help stop the cycle of incarceration.

Unit 18 opened in July 2022 to house the most challenging juvenile offenders after major riots at Banksia Hill.

Both Unit 18 and Banksia Hill have been plagued by high rates of self-harm incidents and detainees being placed into prolonged lockdowns.

Dr Sotiri said many of the children in Unit 18 were kept in their cells for 22 hours or more per day amid rolling COVID-19 lockdowns.