Indigenous teenager dies by suicide at Australian youth detention centre
Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
An Aboriginal teenager died by suicide at a detention centre in Western Australia after calling out from his cell.
The 17-year-old boy died inside Banksia Hill Youth Detention Centre on Thursday night, just two days after arriving at the facility. The teenager was the second minor to die in custody in less than a year.
He was found unresponsive in his cell when staff went to check on the boy, according to state premier Roger Cook. The staff entered the cell and performed CPR but were unable to revive the boy, ABC reported.
“Clearly a failure has taken place and we will undertake the important task of understanding the circumstances,” the premier said on Friday.
The teenager was placed in the facility’s intensive supervision unit but was considered low risk concerning self-harm, the authorities said.
Brad Royce, the commissioner of corrective services, said the boy was checked 10 times after being moved to a general unit, and on the 11th turn he was found unresponsive. Mr Royce said he had reviewed body camera footage and that he was “satisfied” with the way staff reacted.
Mr Royce said the boy had called out from his cell prior to his death but the cries had “no suggestion of harm”. “It was low-level stuff, innocuous. I’d rather not go into it, but it had no impact on this,” he said.
The teenager arrived at the facility “intoxicated”, the authorities said, adding that he had been potentially “taking illicit drugs as well”.
The teenager spent most of the afternoon outside of his cell and returned sometime after 6pm (local time).
His death comes just two weeks after a report delivered by the Commissioner for Children and Young People condemned the “systemic failure of successive governments that did not put the needs of children and young people as their primary consideration” at the facility and Unit 18 youth detention centres.
Last year, a 16-year-old died by suicide in his cell at Unit 18, a facility inside the adult Casuarina Prison youth detention unit for young adults deemed dangerous.
“How many more Aboriginal children will die before the WA government closes down these inhumane, dangerous youth prisons?” asked Kacey Teerman, Amnesty International’s Indigenous Rights Campaigner.
Mr Cook said on Friday that he had “more confidence than ever before in terms of the way we are managing our juvenile detention facilities.”
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
