Content warning: suicide
A First Nations teenager has died in a youth detention centre in WA.
State authorities confirmed a 17-year-old boy was found unresponsive in his cell following a self-harm incident.
It’s the second time a young person has died in WA custody, after the death of a 16-year-old First Nations boy in October.
WA Premier Roger Cook said a clear “failure has taken place” and that authorities were working to understand the circumstances of the incident.
Here’s the latest.
Details
WA authorities confirmed on Friday that a teenage boy died inside Banksia Hill Detention Centre overnight.
He arrived at the centre on Tuesday and was placed in an intensive supervision unit for 24 hours, before being moved to a general unit on Thursday.
Commissioner of Corrective Services Brad Royce said staff checked on the boy 10 times on Thursday night.
“On the 11th occasion just prior to 10pm he was found unresponsive,” and could not be revived, Royce said.
The incident is WA’s second youth death in custody in less than a year.
A 16-year-old First Nations boy died in Perth hospital in October, after he was found unresponsive in his cell at a youth detention centre.
The boy was being held at the Unit 18 youth detention facility. This is part of Casuarina Prison, the main maximum-security prison for adult male prisoners in WA.
Report
A 2023 report on Unit 18 and Banksia Hill found the state’s youth custody system was in crisis.
The report attributed high self-harm, suicide rates, staff assaults and rioting to the extended time detained children spend in their cells.
It described “a self-perpetuating cycle” where “young people’s isolation increases their anxieties, anger and frustration”.
Last year, the Government announced plans to replace Unit 18 with a high-security, custom-built youth centre.
Response
Cook said he was “saddened” by the “horrible event” at Banskia Hill Detention Centre.
“On behalf of the WA Government, we send our deepest and most sincere condolences to the family and everyone impacted.“
Cook defended the state’s youth detention system, saying he had “more confidence than ever before” in the state’s management of its juvenile detention facilities.
He said development progress around the “alternative” unit 18 was “ongoing”.
WA Commissioner for Children and Young People Jacqueline McGowan-Jones said she was, “heartbroken” over a second youth death in custody.
It comes two weeks after the Commissioner tabled a report in WA Parliament, after an inquiry into youth detention care models.
The report found “the systemic failure of successive governments that did not put the needs of children and young people as their primary consideration.”
It made 16 recommendations. The Government’s response is due by the end of the year.
“I recognise the profound impact this tragedy will have on the community, the boy’s family and the young people in detention…. How many more children and young people need to be traumatised or lose their life before we see significant change?”
WA Commissioner for Children
and Young People, Jacqueline McGowan-Jones
