Warning: This story carries the name of a deceased Indigenous person.
There have been significant improvements in the management of young people in detention, a new review has found, one week after a coroner said Casuarina’s notorious youth wing should close “as a matter of urgency”.
Coroner Philip Urquhart called for the justice department to be stripped of its role overseeing young people during the inquest into the death of Cleveland Dodd, who was found unresponsive inside a cell in Unit 18 in the early hours of October 12, 2023.
Cleveland Dodd’s mother Nadene Dodd and father Wayne Gentle.Credit: Aaron Bunch/AAP
The case will return to court in June for closing submissions ahead of the coroner’s final findings and recommendations.
In the second part a youth custody review that followed its 2023 inspection report, the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services said the Department of Justice had made considerable progress in stabilising the youth detention facilities since last year.
But it still found that Unit 18 should close, and a new facility be built in its place.
The review stated a new trauma-informed model of care had been rolled out and was having a positive impact on detainees.
And a renewed focus on recruitment had led to a lift in youth custodial staff levels, culminating in young people spending more time out of cell participating in education, programs and recreation.
The review also noted improvements in culturally safe and secure practices, educational outcomes, health services, and voluntary programs and activities for detainees, and the establishment of an Aboriginal Services Unit to provide cultural support to detainees.
