Minister admits notorious WA juvenile prison ‘unacceptable’, but says there’s no alternative

Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia has conceded the Unit 18 youth wing of Casuarina Prison is “unacceptable” after a letter surfaced flagging concerns for a teenage inmate two weeks before he attempted suicide.

The 16-year-old Aboriginal prisoner was discovered by guards about 2am on Thursday before he was rushed to hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.

Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia admitted Unit 18 was “unacceptable”, but said the government had little choice.Credit: Jesinta Burton

Papalia would not be drawn on the teenager’s condition, revealing only that his family were visiting and had been with him.

He admitted the facility fell short of what the state government wanted it to be after being quizzed about a letter from the Aboriginal Legal Service, which showed it had raised concerns about the boy’s welfare and requested he be transferred to Banksia Hill a fortnight before the incident.

This masthead understands the boy was on remand and had not yet been sentenced.

Unit 18 at Casuarina Prison was repurposed as a juvenile centre in July 2022 after the state’s only youth detention centre, Banksia Hill, was damaged by a riot which forced the government to split the inmate cohort in two.

And Papalia said the government had no choice but to keep it that way.

He hailed improvements at Banksia Hill, which he said could be jeopardised by reintroducing the 16-strong cohort of “complex” detainees at the makeshift juvenile wing back into the detention centre.

“It is a sad fact that the ones who are in Unit 18 are the most complex, challenging and often dangerous; they regularly self harm, they regularly can carry out violent acts against staff, the other detainees and themselves,” Papalia said.

“Unit 18 is not acceptable, it’s not what the government would like it to be, and we’re determined to make it better, but there is no alternative.

“If you take them back to Banksia, it compromises the 76 other juvenile detainees, who don’t get time out of their cell, or go to school, or exercise because those individuals are disruptive, violent, and complex and challenging.

“Just because the letter came, it doesn’t mean we’re not doing everything we can to keep those juveniles, those detainees safe given that Unit 18 is not the desired or optimal location. But there is no other magical place.”

The state government also revealed an infrastructure review had been completed, with the findings and recommendations currently before cabinet.

Papalia would not be drawn on the outcome, but said he expected the recommendations would include the construction of a purpose-built facility and vowed to throw every resource the department had at it.

The news comes amid persistent warnings from advocates that the youth justice system was failing vulnerable children and after the state’s own justice department data showed Unit 18 prisoners were being confined to their cells for up to 20 hours per day.

In July, the WA Supreme Court ruled that subjecting children to prolonged isolation in cells was akin to solitary confinement and was illegal.

It also follows the release of the disability royal commission report, which recommended both facilities stop using solitary confinement and that the government legislate a ban on the practice.

Crisis support is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14, Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800, for 24/7 crisis support run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, contact 13YARN (13 92 76).

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