“Dysfunctionally toxic” culture plagued WA youth justice system, mental health expert tells Cleveland Dodd inquest
The Western Australian government was “fed bulls…t” by Corrective Services’ leadership, according to the man who had been tasked with overhauling the state’s troubled youth justice system.
Appearing during the fourth round of hearings into the death of 16-year-old Yamatji boy Cleveland Dodd, the state’s former under treasurer and mental health commissioner, Tim Marney, said a toxic culture at the Department of Justice was the cause of much of the mayhem that has led to two deaths in custody in the past 18 months.
Mr Marney’s appointment was welcomed by many, especially when, in 2023, he outlined a new model of care for children at Banksia Hill Detention Centre.
However, his six-month contract was not renewed, and appearing before Coroner Philip Urquhart, the highly respected public servant unleashed on the department.
The ABC reports Mr Marney told the court there was “a cluster…of toxicity, of culture”.
“There was a breakdown in the quality of the relationship from [the department] leadership to … management to operational staff.”
“To the extent that the culture, which is a summary term for the way in which they interact and deal with each other, was dysfunctionally toxic.”
Cleveland died last year after being found unresponsive in his cell at Unit 18, inside the adult, maximum security Casuarina Prison.
Mr Marney said he was gradually pushed out – being asked to work more in the city than Banksia Hill – by, he believed, Corrective Services deputy commissioner Christine Ginbey.
He said he chose to ignore the directive, which “went down like a lead balloon”.
Ms Ginbey has been at the heart of much of the inquest, culminating in the extraordinary request by her new legal team to have Coroner Urquhart recuse himself over accusations he displayed “apprehended bias” by allegedly berating and bullying her whilst she gave evidence in August.
Coroner Urquhart denied the request.
Mr Marney was full of praise for most of the corrections staff on the ground, noting: “They gave them love and support and they gave them what they needed from a therapeutic approach, they treated them as humans.”
However, he said the dysfunction became apparent once he began to meet them and see their day-to-day work.
“By six weeks in, it was very clear that that was the root cause of all issues … [including] behaviour among youth detainees,” he said.
He said poor culture became “normalised,” and “s**t flows down from there”.
His new plan, which sought to move from a punitive to a therapeutic approach, saw a lack of commitment from management on site, something he stressed was not mirrored by senior Government politicians, including Roger Cook, Bill Johnston, and Paul Papalia.
“They were being fed bullshit,” he said of the senior Labor figures.
Labelling the increased resistance “passive aggressive,” Mr Marney he was receiving feedback from young people not provided to other operation staff.
“[It] painted senior management and leadership in a very bad light,” he said.
The inquest continues.
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