A warning this story contains content some viewers may find distressing and it also discusses an incident of self-harm. The focus shifts to the actions of senior government officials after a corruptions probe found no serious misconduct by prison staff relating to the death of Cleveland Dodd. The 16-year-old died a week after attempting self-harm in the notorious juvenile detention facility, Unit 18, in October last year. The triple C’s investigation exposed serious systematic gaps between staff, senior management, and the government.
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00:00The Commission's findings have been tough to accept for some.
00:07Nadine Dodd is outraged frankly, however it should be noted that the report doesn't make
00:15conclusive findings.
00:16And welcomed by others.
00:18Obviously we expect that there's some relief from our membership who are directly involved.
00:26But while the Commission's report cleared frontline staff of serious misconduct, it
00:31shifted the heat onto higher levels of power.
00:34Make no mistake, this report does not absolve the government of failings.
00:40In her evidence to the CCC, Deputy Commissioner Christine Jimby said she requested additional
00:45full-time employees every six months during her tenure.
00:50And she continued to ask for Unit 18 to be staffed properly as part of every budget submission.
00:57As part of the mid-year review, around September last year, Ms Jimby claimed she submitted
01:01a plan for the operation of Unit 18.
01:04It included significantly enhanced staffing numbers, a temporary special allowance for
01:10staff, and the backpaying of that allowance.
01:12It was only after Cleveland self-harm on October 12th that Ms Jimby received notification directly
01:19from the Premier's office that the plan had been approved.
01:22Those requests echo what we had publicly been asking for for an extended period.
01:27And it's disappointing that it took a death for those things to be delivered.
01:32The Minister for Corrective Services said $77 million has been allocated for youth justice
01:37services as part of that mid-year review, including increases to staffing and support
01:43services inside Unit 18.