❓ Opposition MP Love questions the Minister for Corrective Services regarding the suicide of a 16-year-old in Unit 18 of Casuarina Prison, focusing on transparency, officer conduct, and cultural change. The Minister defends his actions, citing the release of an internal inquiry report and ongoing efforts to improve procedures and address cultural issues.
AnsweredQoN 845Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
YOUTH SUICIDE — UNIT 18, CASUARINA PRISON
845. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Corrective Services:
Before
I ask my question, I extend my condolences to the family of Mr Tinesh
Tamilkodi, the St John WA paramedic who tragically lost his life while
on duty in the early hours of this morning. Our thoughts are with his family
during this difficult time. His passing marks a sombre moment as the first Western
Australian paramedic to lose their life in this way.
I
refer to the tragic suicide of a 16-year-old in Casuarina Prison's unit
18 and note the ongoing revelations surrounding the circumstances under
which this occurred that have continued to be revealed by the state's
media, not by the department nor the minister himself.
(1) During the
last week, why did the minister seek to deflect and downplay the seriousness of
the questions being raised about the officers on the night?
(2) Does the minister accept that
the conduct of those officers was unacceptable?
(3) Does the minister now accept
there is a need for deep cultural change in his department?
(4) Given reports
of another boy being transferred to hospital, what are the practical measures
being rolled out to ensure this tragic event does not happen again?
845. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Corrective Services:
Before
I ask my question, I extend my condolences to the family of Mr Tinesh
Tamilkodi, the St John WA paramedic who tragically lost his life while
on duty in the early hours of this morning. Our thoughts are with his family
during this difficult time. His passing marks a sombre moment as the first Western
Australian paramedic to lose their life in this way.
I
refer to the tragic suicide of a 16-year-old in Casuarina Prison's unit
18 and note the ongoing revelations surrounding the circumstances under
which this occurred that have continued to be revealed by the state's
media, not by the department nor the minister himself.
(1) During the
last week, why did the minister seek to deflect and downplay the seriousness of
the questions being raised about the officers on the night?
(2) Does the minister accept that
the conduct of those officers was unacceptable?
(3) Does the minister now accept
there is a need for deep cultural change in his department?
(4) Given reports
of another boy being transferred to hospital, what are the practical measures
being rolled out to ensure this tragic event does not happen again?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(4) I
do not know where the member was last Friday, but I was before the media
releasing an internal inquiry report into
the incident to which he refers that comprehensively laid out the sequence of
events. In releasing it, I stood in front of the media and extended my
condolences to the family of Cleveland Dodd. I also said that we let him down; that is what I said. Most of
the member's question appears to have about a two-week lag on
it, which is probably reasonable for the Leader of the Opposition; it is
probably about standard practice. With
respect to actions that have been taken, had he been paying any attention, the
member would have noted that I appeared
with the Commissioner of Corrective Services, Brad Royce, APM. He indicated at the time, as did I, that there is a need for cultural change within Corrective
Services, specifically within juvenile
detention. We need to focus on ensuring, at the outset, that people comply with
procedures: if they have equipment,
they wear it, and if it is issued and appropriate for them to use, then they
use it. That relates to things like radios and duress alarms. It was in
the inquiry report as well. Officers, in a well-intentioned way, had enabled detainees to cover the cameras in
their cells for extended periods of time. In this particular case, it
was not done out of any lax approach. What they had assumed was an intent of
trying to provide teenage boys with some
degree of privacy and modesty. It has been made clear and the commissioner made it very clear that that is not to be tolerated because the requirements for safety
outweigh or take precedence over any requirement for affording those juvenile
detainees in this particular unit any degree of privacy. Those things are basic
measures that should have been applied at the time, which were not and are now.
With
respect to the member's pretty offensive implication around my defence
of people doing a really tough job in a really seriously tough
environment, let me say this. The inquiry report confirmed other things. It
confirmed that following the two calls by Cleveland to the control centre, the
officer on the floor who was walking between a number of juveniles on the night
spoke briefly with Cleveland. Bear in mind that this report is not yet complete
in terms of not having afforded those individuals involved the opportunity to
convey their versions of events. We are talking about an interim inquiry
report, subject to completion through enabling those people to have their say.
That aside, all the CCTV and audio and the assessment by the internal inquirers
confirm he was checked. Then the youth custodial officer involved walked from
his cell to another cell to check another young lad who he knew had just been
removed from ARMS, the at-risk management
system, which is suicide watch. Then he talked for 10 minutes to another juvenile
who was on ARMS. Cleveland was not on ARMS. That process of being placed
on watch for concern about self-harm is done by other people, not by the youth
custodial officer. Cleveland was not on it, so clearly the officer was
concerned about the individual whom he knew to be on ARMS. That said, on the
very morning that Cleveland had attempted to take his life, when I went
immediately into a press conference, I conveyed what we knew at that time to be
the truth—the situation as we knew it in the public interest. I went on
to say that there would be an internal inquiry to determine all the facts. That
is still not yet complete. What I have done is release the interim internal
inquiry the moment I got it. I got it on the Thursday and I went out and
released it last Friday morning. Anyone claiming that I somehow misled is
assuming that I somehow intentionally knew that what we knew to be the case on
the first morning was wrong. Why would I do that? Why would I go out —
Mr R.S. Love : I don't
know; that's why I'm asking you!
Mr P. PAPALIA : Adjust your
tinfoil hat!
There
would be no benefit to anybody. I went out on the first day, in the interests
of the public and the family, to tell them what we knew to be the facts at that
time, subject to an internal inquiry, which has now also become subject to a Corruption
and Crime Commission inquiry and a coroner's inquest, both of which
will determine other facts. The CCC inquiry will look at misconduct. The
coroner's inquest will look at the cause of death and contributing
factors to the cause of death. It is
inappropriate and it is wrong for the Leader of the Opposition to attempt to
garner some degree of political advantage out of pursuing this pretty
sensitive matter with a tactless approach. It is just embarrassing.
do not know where the member was last Friday, but I was before the media
releasing an internal inquiry report into
the incident to which he refers that comprehensively laid out the sequence of
events. In releasing it, I stood in front of the media and extended my
condolences to the family of Cleveland Dodd. I also said that we let him down; that is what I said. Most of
the member's question appears to have about a two-week lag on
it, which is probably reasonable for the Leader of the Opposition; it is
probably about standard practice. With
respect to actions that have been taken, had he been paying any attention, the
member would have noted that I appeared
with the Commissioner of Corrective Services, Brad Royce, APM. He indicated at the time, as did I, that there is a need for cultural change within Corrective
Services, specifically within juvenile
detention. We need to focus on ensuring, at the outset, that people comply with
procedures: if they have equipment,
they wear it, and if it is issued and appropriate for them to use, then they
use it. That relates to things like radios and duress alarms. It was in
the inquiry report as well. Officers, in a well-intentioned way, had enabled detainees to cover the cameras in
their cells for extended periods of time. In this particular case, it
was not done out of any lax approach. What they had assumed was an intent of
trying to provide teenage boys with some
degree of privacy and modesty. It has been made clear and the commissioner made it very clear that that is not to be tolerated because the requirements for safety
outweigh or take precedence over any requirement for affording those juvenile
detainees in this particular unit any degree of privacy. Those things are basic
measures that should have been applied at the time, which were not and are now.
With
respect to the member's pretty offensive implication around my defence
of people doing a really tough job in a really seriously tough
environment, let me say this. The inquiry report confirmed other things. It
confirmed that following the two calls by Cleveland to the control centre, the
officer on the floor who was walking between a number of juveniles on the night
spoke briefly with Cleveland. Bear in mind that this report is not yet complete
in terms of not having afforded those individuals involved the opportunity to
convey their versions of events. We are talking about an interim inquiry
report, subject to completion through enabling those people to have their say.
That aside, all the CCTV and audio and the assessment by the internal inquirers
confirm he was checked. Then the youth custodial officer involved walked from
his cell to another cell to check another young lad who he knew had just been
removed from ARMS, the at-risk management
system, which is suicide watch. Then he talked for 10 minutes to another juvenile
who was on ARMS. Cleveland was not on ARMS. That process of being placed
on watch for concern about self-harm is done by other people, not by the youth
custodial officer. Cleveland was not on it, so clearly the officer was
concerned about the individual whom he knew to be on ARMS. That said, on the
very morning that Cleveland had attempted to take his life, when I went
immediately into a press conference, I conveyed what we knew at that time to be
the truth—the situation as we knew it in the public interest. I went on
to say that there would be an internal inquiry to determine all the facts. That
is still not yet complete. What I have done is release the interim internal
inquiry the moment I got it. I got it on the Thursday and I went out and
released it last Friday morning. Anyone claiming that I somehow misled is
assuming that I somehow intentionally knew that what we knew to be the case on
the first morning was wrong. Why would I do that? Why would I go out —
Mr R.S. Love : I don't
know; that's why I'm asking you!
Mr P. PAPALIA : Adjust your
tinfoil hat!
There
would be no benefit to anybody. I went out on the first day, in the interests
of the public and the family, to tell them what we knew to be the facts at that
time, subject to an internal inquiry, which has now also become subject to a Corruption
and Crime Commission inquiry and a coroner's inquest, both of which
will determine other facts. The CCC inquiry will look at misconduct. The
coroner's inquest will look at the cause of death and contributing
factors to the cause of death. It is
inappropriate and it is wrong for the Leader of the Opposition to attempt to
garner some degree of political advantage out of pursuing this pretty
sensitive matter with a tactless approach. It is just embarrassing.
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