Aboriginal Legal Service never heard back from Department after asking why Cleveland Dodd was moved to Unit 18, inquest reveals
Key points:
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Children in the notorious Unit 18 of Casuarina Prison are subject to racist comments and staff are ill-equipped to deal with young people, a hearing into the death of an Indigenous child has heard.
- The inquest into the death of 16-year-old Yamatji boy Cleveland Dodd resumed Monday.
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Justice Paul Tottle previously found in 2022 that rolling lockdowns that left detainees languishing in their cells for most of the day as unlawful.
Children in the notorious Unit 18 of Casuarina Prison are subject to racist comments and staff are ill-equipped to deal with young people, a hearing into the death of an Indigenous child has heard.
It comes after a senior member of prison staff who was allegedly found napping on the night of the child’s death was excused from giving evidence on mental health grounds.
The inquest into the death of 16-year-old Yamatji boy Cleveland Dodd, who was found unresponsive in his cell at Unit 18 of the maximum-security adult Casuarina Prison in October last year, resumed on Monday.
Aboriginal Legal Services WA Legal Services Director Peter Collins told the Coroners Court that in the fortnight before Cleveland’s death in custody, he sent a letter to the Department of Justice saying the teenager’s move from Banksia Hill youth detention centre to Unit 18 was negatively impacting him.
It stated conditions at Unit 18 were negatively impacting Cleveland’s wellbeing and he wasn’t able to access education.
He was also being locked in his cell for long periods.
Justice Paul Tottle previously found in 2022 that rolling lockdowns that left detainees languishing in their cells for most of the day as unlawful.
“Did you ever receive a response to this?” Counsel Assisting the Coroner, Anthony Crocker, asked Mr Collins.
“No,” he replied, stating he also used the letter to recommended Cleveland be moved back to Banksia Hill.
Asked if he ever got responses from the Department or any explanation as to why they wouldn’t respond, Mr Collins told the court: “No.”
Mr Collins said ALSWA failed to receive replies to the majority of letters they sent, including one that raised concerns about Unit 18’s frequent lockdowns, inadequate mental health support, and responses to serious harm.
Asked by Dana Levitt, counsel for Cleveland’s mother Nadene Dodd, if he was aware of children being subject to racist language in Unit 18, Mr Collins said he was.
“That does not accord with a culturally adapted, trauma informed model of care, does it?” Ms Levitt asked.
“No,” Mr Collins responded.
He noted there was an “absence of correct training” for custodial staff, before highlighting the toll of isolation on inmates — many of few came from regional areas, including Cleveland, and already had limited access to family and culture.
“Segregation and isolation, in particular for young Aboriginal people, is highly deleterious to their mental health,” Mr Collins said.
“If you’re a young Aboriginal person from a regional [and/or] remote area… family interaction is the lifeblood of your life.
“So, to then be cast into a situation like in Unit 18, on your own in a cell for hours on end, with very limited out of cell time, often confined to making telephone calls with little or no interaction with other young people in particular…I imagine it would be highly traumatic or distressing for those young people.”
Unlike other prisons, children in Unit 18 are not able to speak to their legal representatives confidentially, and Mr Collins said the conditions at Unit 18 made it hard to adequately to represent their clients in court.
Earlier, the court heard custodial officer Karl Mead-Hunter, who was allegedly sleeping and needed to be roused awake on the night of Cleveland’s death, would not take the stand as he continued to suffer symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
A psychiatrist concluded Mr Mead-Hunter was not fit to attend as he wouldn’t be able to tolerate extended periods of questioning, and Coroner Phil Urquhart – whilst acknowledging the disappointment the Dodd family would have on the matter – said the court couldn’t compel any witness to give evidence if it would damage their health.
Mr Mead-Hunter will need to give answers to questions in writing.
Last month, WA’s Corruption and Crime Commission cleared staff of serious misconduct over Cleveland’s death.
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