Coroner hands down findings into Cleveland Dodd’s death, the first child to die inside a West Australian juvenile detention centre

WARNING: This story contains the name and images of a deceased indigenous person A coroner has called for the controversial West Australian juvenile detention centre Unit 18 to be urgently shut down, describing the conditions as “inhumane.” Coroner Philip Urquhart gave a scathing assessment of how Cleveland Dodd, 16, came to self-harm inside the unit attached to an adult maximum security prison. Dozens of people attended the Coroner’s Court to support Cleveland’s family as the coroner delivered his findings. Cleveland, 16, self-harmed inside Unit 18 on October 12, 2023. He had been held on remand inside the facility for about three months when a guard found him unresponsive in his cell. Cleveland was rushed to hospital where he was reunited with his family before he took his last breath a week later. The inquest into Cleveland’s death began in April last year and was the longest-running coronial inquest held in Western Australia, ending in July. The coroner said authorities ignored several warnings that a child would die inside the unit and that Cleveland’s death was “inevitable”. “Sadly, their predictions came true with Cleveland’s death,” he said. “The time for a punitive punishment style approach has long past.” “It is an immense tragedy when a child makes a decision to end their life, it is magnified if in state care and their death was predicted. “How was this allowed to happen?” The coroner said the Unit 18 was anything but a safe place to house some of the state’s most vulnerable children. He said the evidence from people who worked inside the Unit was alarming, unexpected and confronting. “Conditions were chaotic, dangerous and like a war zone,” he said. “Cells were described as unliveable, and that was not an exaggeration. “Cleveland had no running water for 21 days, they had to flush his toilet by external means. “The amount of time he spent alone inside his cell was deeply disturbing to hear.” The coroner said Cleveland was inside his cell alone for about 22 hours each day, 1000km away from his family which made it nearly impossible for them to visit. He was kept inside Unit 18 for 74 days before he took his own life. The court was told harrowing details which the teenager endured in the days before he died including threats to self-harm, how requests to see a psychologist went unanswered and how he was denied calls to his mum. “It is difficult to comprehend the despair he would have felt living in these appalling conditions, he was also suffering other hardships in these conditions,” he said. “Unit 18 was unfit to adequately care or detain detainees at risk of self-harm, and Cleveland was one. “This unfit state was the effect of inability of staff to follow procedures, largely due to staff shortages and an insufficient number of non-custodial staff to perform duties. “Given detainees in Unit 18 were some of the most vulnerable children in the state it was deeply troubling for me to make these findings.” The Coroner made adverse findings against the Department of Justice and made recommendations that would dramatically change the landscape of how youth justice operates in West Australia. He suggested a forum be established to consider if the department should continue managing youth justice across the state. “A primary reason why I have made this recommendation is that Western Australia remains the only jurisdiction in Australia that has its Corrective Services agency solely managing youth justice,” he said. “I remain unconvinced this is the best option. “How Unit 18 came to be a youth detention centre should also be the subject of a special inquiry to find out how it came to be WA’s second youth detention centre,” he said. “Most significantly, Unit 18 should be closed as a matter of urgency.” Cleveland’s mother Nadene Dodd did not speak to media, but provided a statement saying she believed her son’s death was the product of institutional abuse and neglect. “It breaks my heart to know that Cleveland spent 23 hours a day, or more, for days on end, locked down in a filthy cell with no end in sight,” she said. “I can understand why my son lost hope and the will to live. “While I hope that Cleveland’s death, and Coroner Urquhart’s findings and recommendations, will lead to the change required to prevent other children from suffering the way my son did, it depends upon a massive, fundamental shift in the Department of Justice’s approach to youth justice, which is yet to be seen.” Social justice advocate Gerry Georgatos has stood by Nadene since Cleveland’s death, saying it was not just unfortunate, but his passing was inevitable within the horrors of Unit 18. Mr Georgatos recently published a book Cleveland Dodd: Child of the Desert Sunrise. “He was a boy killed by an inexcusable system. Mr Georgatos said the coroner has given the State an opportunity to reclaim some dignity, humanity and responsibility. “The question now is whether the government and Corrective Services will take that opportunity or turn away from it once more,” he said. “Because if Cleveland’s death does not shake this system to its foundations, then what will? If not for the most vulnerable children among us, then for whom will we ever change anything at all?” Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia said the conditions inside Western Australia’s youth detention centres had significantly changed in the past two years. He said Unit 18 would not close until a replacement was built, with works currently in progress. Mr Papalia said the state did not agree with all the Coroner’s recommendations and some had already been implemented. He said it was about providing the best possible management, supervision and support to a complex, challenging and often violent and dangerous cohort. “There is no facility in the state more fit for purpose than unit 18 to house this cohort. It’s a dangerous, complex and challenging cohort,” he said. “When we have an alternative, we will replace it and Unit 18 will be closed.” The Department of Justice issued a statement acknowledging the findings and a number of reforms that have been implemented following Cleveland’s death in 2023. The Department said it would now review the Coroner’s report and consider further improvement for Western Australia’s youth justice. Director General Kylie Maj said the department would continue to build on these reforms. “Our focus is on creating a youth justice system that is safe, culturally responsive and rehabilitative, so young people have the best chance to turn their lives around,” she said. Corrective Services Commissioner Brad Royce said the changes were already improving stability and safety at the facilities. “Every young person now has a structured day, more time out of cell and access to programs that support rehabilitation and cultural connection. These changes are making a real difference,” he said. National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Sue-Anne Hunter said the conditions Cleveland was held under contravene the human rights standards to which Australia has committed. “No child deserves this. The Coroner’s findings lay bare a system in crisis: institutional abuse, cruel and degrading treatment, and a facility described as a “war zone” by the very people who ran it,” she said. “The 33 recommendations made by the Coroner demand urgent action, including the immediate closure of Unit 18. “But recommendations without implementation are just words. We have seen too many inquiries, too many reports, and too many recommendations gather dust while our children suffer.“Cleveland’s death must be a turning point. We need to reform our systems so we can prevent further catastrophic deaths. “We owe him – and every child in detention – nothing less.” More to come.