Latest news with #ClevelandDodd
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
WA coroner's early response in Cleveland Dodd inquest a vote of no confidence in Justice Department
In handing down his early assessment of WA's first recorded death in youth detention, Coroner Philip Urquhart had the opportunity to provide a vote of confidence in how the Department of Justice responded to the tragedy. WARNING: This story discusses incidents of self-harm and contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died. Instead, he did the opposite, at least in part. The department has repeatedly argued the inquest's scope should be limited to only what is directly relevant to Cleveland Dodd's death, which came after he self-harmed inside his cell in a makeshift youth detention facility in 2023. In its closing submissions, it said "the general operation of youth justice in this state" should be looked into "at another time and in another place". That was despite Coroner Urquhart describing evidence heard by the inquest as revealing "youth justice was in a crisis at the time of Cleveland's death and had been for some considerable time". Would it be reasonable to expect the department to bring those broader issues to the attention of those other authorities who it said would be better placed to look into them? "I do not consider the department would do so," was Coroner Urquhart's assessment. The reason was simple. At the same time as the department was telling him more fundamental issues should be looked into elsewhere, it was arguing there was no reason to even go looking. "The department does not consider there is any material to suggest there is any scope for an adverse comment to be made about itself or its employees on most, if not all, of those issues," was how Coroner Urquhart summed it up. But he has a different view. Those issues were serious and included problems at Banksia Hill Detention Centre which led to the rushed opening of Unit 18, allegations of "untruthful or misleading messaging" about the facility and whether it had been opened "before it was safe to do so". "There is evidence that has revealed aspects of the manner in which the department did its work which is worthy, in my view, of closer examination in a special inquiry," was the polite way he phrased it, pointing to some of the evidence he had heard. Among it, testimony from then-corrective services commissioner Mike Reynolds, who had been on leave around the opening of Unit 18, that it was a "bad decision" which was "destined to fail". He also pointed to evidence from Christine Ginbey, who had been in charge of youth detention at the time, saying the three weeks or so her team was given to get Unit 18 ready was "entirely unreasonable" and should have been closer to six months. While the idea of a special inquiry makes sense — given its scope can be much broader and isn't scope not as constrained as an inquest — it's hard to see the government willingly submit itself to another inquiry which almost certainly would not paint its work in a positive light. "I'm not going to add any more in relation to that, it's far too early," Corrective Services Commissioner Brad Royce said outside court. A state government spokesperson said it could not comment "until the inquest's final report is delivered". To its credit, the department has not been waiting for that final report to take action — something Coroner Urquhart did acknowledge. "We have had the opportunity throughout this inquest to understand the likely recommendations and we've acted on those," Commissioner Royce said. "From the time of the start of this coronial process you would see that there have been a lot of changes and I'd like to acknowledge that the staff at Corrective Services and our significant partners have put a lot of effort into the change that you've seen across the estate. "We acknowledge that we have a lot of work to do and we'll continue to work hard in that space." It is this change that Cleveland Dodd's family hope has a meaningful impact. "If Cleveland had all the right help … maybe he'd be here today with us," his grandmother Roslyn Sullivan said outside court. "All the things he went through, I wouldn't want another child to go through that." Despite the department's work, a key request of Cleveland's family — and what the coroner has flagged could be one of his key recommendations — remains just an idea. Since it opened there have been calls to close Unit 18, the argument being an adult prison will never be suitable to look after the state's most vulnerable youths. The government has maintained it cannot close the facility until a replacement is built, because it needs two distinct locations to manage young people in detention, lest the chaos that led to the opening of Unit 18 be repeated. The government promised to do that in late 2023, the month after Cleveland died. But the government is yet to allocate the project more than $11.5 million in last month's state budget — money it announced nearly a year ago for planning and early site works. That's not enough to satisfy Cleveland's family and those desperate for change. While not directly addressed by Coroner Urquhart, he did note he is still weighing up whether to recommend Unit 18 be closed when he hands down his final report. "Everything must be done to minimise the risk of another death of a child in youth detention in Western Australia," he said in closing the inquest's hearings yesterday. The ultimate test for this inquest — and any processes that follow it — is whether they result in real, lasting change in WA's long-troubled youth justice system. Former inspector of custodial services Neil Morgan wrote in 2017: "For the nine years I have been in this job, Banksia Hill has lurched from crisis to partial recovery and then back into crisis." Only time will tell if that cycle will be broken this time around. And while a specific examination into what went wrong at the department is not essential, it certainly wouldn't hurt efforts to deliver meaningful change.
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Coroner may call for prison unit where WA teenager Cleveland Dodd died to be closed
Everything must be done to ensure no more children die in youth detention, a coroner has told an inquest into the death of an Indigenous teenager, including closing down the controversial prison unit where he fatally self-harmed. Cleveland Dodd was found unresponsive inside a cell in Unit 18, a youth wing of the high-security adult facility Casuarina prison in Perth, in the early hours of 12 October 2023. The 16-year-old was taken to hospital in a critical condition and died a week later, causing outrage and grief in the community. It led to a long-running inquest that started in April 2024, with coroner Philip Urquhart saying he might recommend for Unit 18 to be closed, as he delivered his preliminary findings on Tuesday. 'There can be no doubt the evidence from the inquest revealed that youth justice had been a crisis at the time of Cleveland's death and had been for some time,' he told the coroner's court. The coroner indicated he might recommend the justice department no longer oversee the youth justice estate. He is considering calling for a special inquiry under the Public Sector Management Act into how Unit 18 came to be established in mid-2022. 'Everything must be done to minimise the risk of another death of a child in youth detention,' Urquhart said. The coroner said evidence supported findings the justice department had failed to properly supervise Cleveland before he fatally harmed himself. He found staff failed to wear radios as per department policy, Cleveland was confined to his cell for excessive amounts of time and the teen's cell was in a condition that enabled him to self-harm. The department had accepted many failings, including staff not following policies and procedures and Cleveland's lack of access to running water in his cell, Urquhart said. He pointed to extensive evidence Cleveland was not receiving adequate mental health and therapeutic support, education, recreation and 'access to fresh air'. 'There is much evidence to suggest that these needs of Cleveland were not adequately met,' he said. Staff described the 'appalling conditions in which the young people were being detained' and the 'chaotic operating environment' at Unit 18, with some saying it was a 'war zone', Urquhart said as he recapped some of the evidence. 'They described the soul-destroying daily confinement orders which kept detainees in their cells, sometimes for 24 hours a day,' he said. 'They described the lack of support and training given to them to do their jobs and they described the chronic shortage of staff.' The coroner revisited evidence heard about the establishment of Unit 18, as he made a case for a special inquiry after the department and some other counsel made submissions it was beyond the jurisdiction of the court. He said further adverse findings against the department and individuals would be confined to actions taken or not taken in Unit 18 and matters connected to Cleveland's death. He said examples of these would be what staff did after Cleveland covered his in-cell observation camera and the damage in his unit that enabled him to harm himself. The inquest previously heard Cleveland self-harmed about 1.35am. At 1.51am, an officer opened his cell door and at 1.54am a red alert was issued as staff tried to revive the teen. Paramedics arrived at 2.06am but did not get access to Cleveland, who was found to be in cardiac arrest, for nine minutes. The boy was partially revived and taken to hospital but suffered a brain injury because of a lack of oxygen. Cleveland died, surrounded by his family, on 19 October 2023.
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
WA coroner may call for inquiry into Unit 18 following Cleveland Dodd's death
The coroner investigating Western Australia's first recorded death in youth detention says there is significant evidence the teenager's needs were not met, and indicated he may call for a wider-ranging inquiry. WARNING: This story discusses incidents of self-harm and contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died. Cleveland Dodd was 16 when he self-harmed inside his cell in a maximum security adult prison unit which had been hastily turned into a youth detention facility. He died a week later. That prison unit was opened during a chaotic time in youth detention, but lawyers for the government argued much of the evidence heard about that period was beyond the scope of a coronial inquest which has sat for more than 40 days. 'It cannot be expected that the department would refer these matters to another entity,' Coroner Philip Urquhart said of the Justice Department's suggestion that it was for others to investigate. To that end, he indicated he may call for a special inquiry under the state's Public Sector Management Act, which could look at the actions of Department staff in setting up Unit 18. He referred to evidence by the then-Deputy Commissioner responsible for youth justice, Christine Ginbey who told the court the time frame to set up the facility was 'entirely unreasonable', and of current Commissioner Brad Royce who described it as 'ridiculously short'. 'There is evidence that has revealed aspects of the manner in which the department did its work which is worthy, in my view, of closer examination in a special inquiry,' Coroner Urquhart told the court. That included, he said, the accuracy of information sent out before the opening of the facility, whether Unit 18 was opened before it was safe to do so, and whether adequate resources had been provided from when Unit 18 was opened to when Cleveland died. 'The circumstances of how Unit 18 was operating … did not arise out of thin air. There had to be an explanation as to why Cleveland and his fellow detainees were in Unit 18 and why their living conditions were as they had been described,' Coroner Urquhart said. He told the court he would be confining any adverse findings against the department or its staff to actions taken, or not taken, which were connected or directly related to Cleveland's death. Yesterday the Justice Department apologised to his family, acknowledging a number of failings in his care in the lead up to his death. That included not allowing him enough time out of his cell and failing to ensure a CCTV camera in his cell was uncovered, which could have allowed staff to intervene earlier. The court had been told in Cleveland's final 93 days in custody, he was in his cell for 22 hours or more on 77 of those days. Among 25 proposed recommendations put forward by Counsel Assisting the Coroner, the Justice Department's lawyers indicated it supported all but three – including closing the unit where Cleveland died. The government has long maintained it cannot close the unit until another purpose-built facility is established. It has promised to build one near the main youth detention centre at Banksia Hill, but last month's budget contained no money for construction of that facility – only funds to continue planning and early works. Speaking outside court, WA's Corrective Services Commissioner Brad Royce refused to comment on whether he would support a special inquiry. "We have had the opportunity throughout this inquest to understand the likely recommendations and we've acted on those," he said. Commissioner Royce said the corrective services department has accepted and acknowledged a number of its failings throughout the inquest. "The staff at corrective services and our significant partners have put a lot of effort into the change that you've seen across the state," he said. "We acknowledge there's a long way to go but for us we work with some of the most traumatised kids in the state." A group of people lined the street outside the coroner's court holding signs calling for a close to Unit 18 and to fix the "broken" system.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
WA news LIVE: Findings in Cleveland Dodd inquest expected today
Latest posts Latest posts 9.30am Findings in Cleveland Dodd inquest expected today Warning: this report contains the name and image of a deceased Indigenous person, with his family's permission. The coroner heading the inquest into the 2023 death of Cleveland Dodd is expected to hand down their preliminary findings this afternoon. The 16-year-old was the first child to die in custody in Western Australia, after he was held in the notorious Unit 18 at Casuarina Prison. His family yesterday rejected an apology from the WA government saying words are cheap. 'Animals get treated more better than my grandson, who asked for a cup of water in a prison that wasn't even meant to be for a 16-year-old boy,' said Roslyn Sullivan. During the inquest it was revealed the teen spent an average of just three minutes a day outside his prison cell. The family's lawyer described the suicide death as predictable, inexcusable and preventable. 9.25am Across the country and around the world Making headlines across the country and around the world: Home values look set to continue climbing in the latter half of the year after nearly every corner of the country recorded growth in June, and as the Reserve Bank faces mounting pressure to further cut interest rates. The jury in the mushroom murder trial began their deliberations on Monday after a final 'fundamental' warning that Erin Patterson is innocent until proven guilty. It's not just end-of-financial-year sales that could hit your hip pocket from July 1. Depending on your stage of life and where you live, increases to household bills and other expenses – including driving fines in some jurisdictions – could leave your wallet lighter than is comfortable. But there are also some stipulations that may see millions of Australians bolster their savings. Here are the July 1 changes you should know about. Australia stared down a disastrous Wimbledon wipeout for much of the first four hours on Monday until a wounded Jordan Thompson stepped in to pull off another Houdini act at the All England Club.
The Age
2 days ago
- The Age
WA news LIVE: Findings in Cleveland Dodd inquest expected today
Latest posts Latest posts 9.30am Findings in Cleveland Dodd inquest expected today Warning: this report contains the name and image of a deceased Indigenous person, with his family's permission. The coroner heading the inquest into the 2023 death of Cleveland Dodd is expected to hand down their preliminary findings this afternoon. The 16-year-old was the first child to die in custody in Western Australia, after he was held in the notorious Unit 18 at Casuarina Prison. His family yesterday rejected an apology from the WA government saying words are cheap. 'Animals get treated more better than my grandson, who asked for a cup of water in a prison that wasn't even meant to be for a 16-year-old boy,' said Roslyn Sullivan. During the inquest it was revealed the teen spent an average of just three minutes a day outside his prison cell. The family's lawyer described the suicide death as predictable, inexcusable and preventable. 9.25am Across the country and around the world Making headlines across the country and around the world: Home values look set to continue climbing in the latter half of the year after nearly every corner of the country recorded growth in June, and as the Reserve Bank faces mounting pressure to further cut interest rates. The jury in the mushroom murder trial began their deliberations on Monday after a final 'fundamental' warning that Erin Patterson is innocent until proven guilty. It's not just end-of-financial-year sales that could hit your hip pocket from July 1. Depending on your stage of life and where you live, increases to household bills and other expenses – including driving fines in some jurisdictions – could leave your wallet lighter than is comfortable. But there are also some stipulations that may see millions of Australians bolster their savings. Here are the July 1 changes you should know about. Australia stared down a disastrous Wimbledon wipeout for much of the first four hours on Monday until a wounded Jordan Thompson stepped in to pull off another Houdini act at the All England Club.
