WA inquest into youth detention death to wrap up today
The second part of a long-running inquest into WA's first recorded death in juvenile detention, is set to wrap up today.
Transcript
00:00The inquiry has been probing the death of Cleveland Dodd, a 16-year-old boy who fatally
00:06self-harmed in his cell at Unit 18, a youth detention wing inside a maximum-security adult
00:13prison in Perth.
00:15After hearing from frontline staff working at Unit 18, the second tranche of hearings
00:20has focused on why and how the controversial facility was created in the first place, with
00:26both current and former senior bureaucrats taking the stand.
00:31And over the past month, we've heard evidence of how Unit 18 was frantically set up in just
00:36nine days due to the dire state of WA's main youth detention centre, Bankthea Hill.
00:43And evidence that when it first opened in 2022, there was no safe nursing model, no
00:50proper observation cells for mentally vulnerable detainees needing constant monitoring, and
00:55not enough staff to safely run the facility.
00:59And this is despite the Department of Justice painting a very rosy picture of the facility
01:03to the media, stakeholders, the detainees to be moved there, and most notably the minister
01:09that ultimately approved the creation of Unit 18.
01:14Some of those that had given evidence over the last few weeks have admitted to failures
01:18within the department, including the former Director-General, who conceded in hindsight
01:24that the information provided to the minister to Gazette Unit 18 was wrong, misleading,
01:30and deceptive.
01:31Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner who was responsible for youth detention at the time
01:35has staunchly defended both her own and the department's actions, but admitted it could
01:41have been more transparent.
01:44So due to these lengthy testimonies, as well as some documents being dumped on the court
01:49very late by the State Solicitor's Office, Coroner Philip Urca has been forced to create
01:55a third tranche of hearings later this year.
01:58The third part will feature evidence from some mental health experts, as well as members
02:03of senior management at Unit 18.