It’s been revealed the WA government was warned about the wellbeing of a 16-year-old boy two weeks before he attempted to take his life in youth detention.
WARNING: This story discusses incidents of self-harm.
The teenager was discovered unresponsive in his cell in Unit 18 youth wing inside the adult Casuarina Prison in the early hours of Thursday morning.
He was revived by staff before being rushed to hospital where he remains in a critical but stable condition.
The ABC can reveal the Aboriginal Legal Service wrote an urgent letter to the Deputy Corrective Services Commissioner responsible for youth detention on 28 September — two weeks ago.
The letter explains that conditions in Unit 18 “are negatively impacting his wellbeing” and requested an “urgent transfer” back to Banksia Hill, the state’s sole youth facility.
It says the boy told his lawyer “he has generally not received more than one hour out of his cell per day, and on some days no time out of his cell at all.”
Premier Roger Cook yesterday described conditions at Unit 18 as not ideal but a “necessary evil” while broader changes were being implemented across youth detention.
More to come.
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