All cells in the troubled youth wing of an adult prison had points that inmates could use to harm themselves, an inquest has been told.

April 12, 2024

Every cell in the troubled youth wing of an adult prison had damage that detainees could have used to inflict injuries on themselves, an inquest has been told.

Cleveland Dodd was found unresponsive in the early hours of October 12, 2023, after harming himself inside his cell in Unit 18 at 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 and numerous requests for medical treatment in the hours before he was discovered and taken to hospital.

He died eight days later.

A former manager at the unit, Christina Mitchell, told the coroner on Friday that all Unit 18 cells had damage that an inmate could have used to harm themselves.

“Every boy’s cell in Unit 18 had potential ligature points,” she said.

A damaged air vent in the ceiling has been linked to Cleveland’s fatal injury.

The unit’s management team was aware of the damage and it was scheduled for repair on October 11, but that didn’t happen.

“At that moment in time there were obstructions around why we couldn’t move certain people,” Ms Mitchell said.

Coroner Philip Urquhart said he inspected Unit 18 after the teen died and found damage to the air vents in seven of the 16 cells he examined.

The inquest has been told other cells had exposed wiring and broken plumbing, and were filthy.

Cleveland’s cell had no running water and he also made multiple calls from his cell in an agitated state asking for drinking water, before he was found motionless.

The inquest has heard night shift staff ignored those requests because a senior officer had informed them Cleveland had been given six cups of water with his dinner and his cell was not to be unlocked.

But CCTV footage shows Cleveland was given only three cups of water when his evening meal was delivered to his cell about 6pm, along with a bladder of milk.

Cleveland’s threats to self-harm on October 11 and 12 started after his fifth request for water was ignored.

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

Ms Mitchell also detailed how detainees at risk of self-harm were restrained in their cells to prevent it.

She said there were two versions of the restraint that included the detainee being handcuffed and chained around the ankles.