The coroner investigating the death of Cleveland Dodd, the first child to die in Western Australia's detention system, has declared the notorious Unit 18 facility "not fit for purpose" and demanded its urgent closure.
A tragedy foretold in an "unliveable" unit
Sixteen-year-old Cleveland Dodd took his own life inside his cell at Unit 18, the makeshift juvenile detention wing within the adult Casuarina Prison, on October 12, 2023. The unit was opened in mid-2022 as a temporary response to damage at Banksia Hill Detention Centre, but remains operational with a planned closure date of 2028.
In handing down his long-awaited findings on Monday, State Coroner Phil Urquhart was scathing in his assessment. He described conditions staff labelled "unliveable" and "inhumane," with children locked in cells for up to 22 hours a day and some, including Cleveland, having no running water in their cells for weeks.
"It is difficult to comprehend the despair and despondency Cleveland would have felt," Mr Urquhart said. "How was this allowed to happen? It is an immense tragedy when a child makes a decision to end their life ... magnified when they are in the State’s care."
Systemic failures and "institutional abuse"
The inquest revealed harrowing details of Cleveland's final months. Over his last 86 days, he spent just four hours and ten minutes outside—an average of less than three minutes per day. On his final day, after a failed bail application and being unable to reach his mother on her birthday, he made multiple pleas via his cell intercom.
He repeatedly asked for water, a psychologist, a nurse, and paracetamol, and threatened to take his own life eight times. He later covered his cell camera with toilet paper; no staff removed it, so no one saw him tie a ligature to a damaged ceiling vent.
Coroner Urquhart found the extensive lockdowns breached international human rights laws and were "entirely inappropriate" for vulnerable children. He noted the tragedy had been repeatedly predicted by bodies including the Aboriginal Legal Service and Children’s Court President Hylton Quail.
The damning evidence extended to the highest levels of the Department of Justice. Former Director-General Adam Tomison, who resigned in the fallout, admitted the department "blatantly lied" about how Unit 18 would operate in a briefing note to then-minister Bill Johnston. He conceded that locking up children with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder for 23 hours a day amounted to "institutional abuse or systems abuse."
Nineteen recommendations and a call for change
Phil Urquhart made 19 recommendations to overhaul youth justice in WA. While the Department of Justice supported many, it opposed some that the coroner said would "change the landscape." Christine Ginbey, the Corrective Services executive stripped of responsibility for children after the death, even attempted to have the coroner removed from the case over claims of "apprehended bias."
The fast-tracked inquest, which spanned 2024 and 2025, ultimately painted a picture of a system that failed Cleveland Dodd at every turn. The coroner's central demand remains clear: Unit 18 must be shut down as a matter of urgency. The facility, described by staff as "like a war zone," continues to house some of the state's most vulnerable children, years after it was meant to be a short-term solution.
