A probationary correctional worker has told an inquest that she was coerced into working as a senior officer in the troubled youth wing of an adult prison.

April 9, 2024

A probationary corrections worker had to fill in as the senior officer in the troubled youth wing of an adult prison where an Indigenous teenager harmed himself, an inquest has been told

Cleveland Dodd was found unresponsive in the early hours of October 12, 2023, inside his cell in Unit 18 in Perth’s Casuarina Prison, becoming the first juvenile to die in detention in Western Australia.

The 16-year-old had made eight threats to self-harm in the hours before he was discovered and transported to hospital, where he died eight days later.

Youth custodial officer Nina Hayden told a coroner in Perth she was given no training and about two hours notice before being thrust into the role.

“I got called before my shift and told there was no senior officer for the night and could I fill the role,” she said on Tuesday.

“I remember not being sure if I wanted to do that with the little experience I had.”

Coroner Phil Urquhart has heard there were more experienced officers working on the shift but none wanted to do the job.

Ms Hayden said a senior officer from the previous shift sat with her for about two hours and showed her how to fill in a series of reports before leaving her to oversee  detainees and staff for the night shift.

She said she felt anxious and could not say no when she arrived at the unit the following day and was asked to step into the senior officer role for a second shift.

All told, Ms Hayden did two shifts working as the senior officer before the night Cleveland inflicted harm on himself.

The inquest exploring Cleveland’s treatment in Unit 18 and the Department of Justice’s procedures and policies has heard the teen was agitated the night he harmed himself.

He made multiple calls asking for medical treatment and drinking water as the night wore on, but staff were generally reluctant to open detainees’ cell doors at night “due to staffing numbers and risk issues”.

He had spent most of the day in his cell, which had no running water, and was facing the prospect of having to wait until morning before he was given anything to drink.

He also covered a CCTV camera in his cell with tissue paper, blocking the view of correctional staff monitoring him, but they didn’t bother to uncover it until they were fighting to save his life.

Cleveland’s threats to self-harm on October 11 and 12 started after staff working on the night shift ignored his requests for water for a fifth time because they believed day shift officer had given him six cups earlier.

The United Nations stipulates “drinking water shall be available to every prisoner whenever he or she needs it”.

In the 86 days leading up to October 12, Cleveland spent 22 hours or more in his cell per day on 75 of them and had only three hours of schooling in four weeks.