Reform WA’s ‘unlawful’ youth justice system now, Law Society demands

Western Australia’s peak legal advocacy body has demanded the state commission a youth justice system review after a 17-year-old became the second teenager to take their own life in custody – both within the past year.

WAtoday understands the Law Society of WA wrote to Premier Roger Cook and Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia over the death at the notorious Banksia Hill Detention Centre on August 29.

Casuarina Prison, Western Australia.Credit: Nine News Perth

The lobby group has called for the immediate closure of Unit 18 at the adult Casuarina Prison, an outpost for Banksia Hill, as well as an independent system probe.

It wants the Department of Justice to accelerate removal of ligature points in all WA prison cells, as the report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody recommended 30 years ago.

It demands a trauma-informed approach to reforms, in consultation with experts.

Law Society president Paula Wilkinson said pleas thus far had fallen on “deaf ears” despite the Supreme and Children’s courts finding repeatedly, over the past two years, that Corrective
Services had acted unlawfully in managing children in detention.

“The letter called for the immediate closure of Casuarina’s Unit 18, which the legal profession says fails to comply with documented United Nations standards on the rights of children and the prevention of inhuman and cruel treatment,” she said.

“Youth detention should be an environment for supervision and rehabilitation, not punishment and
neglect.”

A state government spokesman confirmed Cook and Papalia had received the letter.

“A response will be prepared in due course,” he said.

The tragedy reignited scrutiny of the system the government claims it is overhauling, after years of criticism over staffing issues and the use of solitary confinement over therapeutic and non-punitive methods.

The news comes 24 hours after former premier Colin Barnett said youth detention systems in WA were akin to torture and called for the closure of Unit 18.

Cook hit back on Tuesday, arguing it was Barnett’s government that lit the fuse to the powder keg that is Banksia Hill by closing the Rangeview Remand Centre.

“[Barnett] produced the situation,” he said.

“We’re making changes at Banksia Hill, and it’s significantly different to what it used to be.

“First you had [opposition corrective services spokesperson] Peter Collier coming out saying we’re locking up too many kids, then you had [Liberal leader] Libby Mettam coming out saying we should lock up more people, and now you have Colin Barnett speaking from his political grave and criticising the very policies he is responsible for — the Liberals are chaotic, they’re dysfunctional, and you really don’t know what they stand for.”

The state government has confirmed the business case for the new facility to consolidate Banskia Hill is complete, but the budget is not yet known.

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