We Can't Wait Until 2028, To Close Unit 18

We Can't Wait Until 2028, To Close Unit 18

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Thank you for supporting efforts to create a better youth justice system in Western Australia.

The Coronial Inquest into the death of 16-year-old Cleveland Dodd has now concluded, and the evidence presented throughout the proceedings revealed deeply disturbing truths about Unit 18. Children were held in conditions described as degrading and harmful, often locked in their cells for more than 23 hours a day.

The Coroner’s report and the findings of the inquest have made clear that Unit 18 was never able to provide the care, safety or support that children need.

Despite this, the facility remains open.

We ...

Thank you for supporting efforts to create a better youth justice system in Western Australia.

The Coronial Inquest into the death of 16-year-old Cleveland Dodd has now concluded, and the evidence presented throughout the proceedings revealed deeply disturbing truths about Unit 18. Children were held in conditions described as degrading and harmful, often locked in their cells for more than 23 hours a day.

The Coroner’s report and the findings of the inquest have made clear that Unit 18 was never able to provide the care, safety or support that children need.

Despite this, the facility remains open.

We are asking the WA Government to act on the findings of the inquest and take immediate steps to ensure that no more children are harmed in these conditions.

Sign the open letter calling on Premier Cook to:

• Close Unit 18 immediately
• Implement the recommendations of the Coronial Inquest
• Invest in community-based supports and alternatives to detention, including housing, mental health and alcohol and drug support, education, and Aboriginal-led solutions
• Deliver accountability and justice for Cleveland Dodd and his family

Children deserve a youth justice system built on help, support and community, not harm.

Add your name and stand with us in calling for change.

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Sign the Open Letter & Join Us

On October 19th, the tragic news we had long feared became a reality. Sixteen-year-old Cleveland Dodd died inside Unit 18, a maximum security adult prison where children should never have been held.

The recent Coronial Inquest into Cleveland’s death laid bare the truth about Unit 18. Evidence showed children were locked down for more than 23 hours a day in degrading and harmful conditions. Cleveland spent 77 of his final 93 days in those conditions.

The Coroner’s findings and the evidence presented throughout the inquest confirm what experts, advocates and communities have been saying for years: Unit 18 was never safe for children and should never have been used to detain them.

Despite this, Unit 18 remains open.

We are calling on the WA Government to act on the lessons of the inquest and take immediate steps to prevent further harm to children in detention.

Add your name to the open letter calling on Premier Roger Cook to:

• Close Unit 18 immediately
• Implement the recommendations of the Coronial Inquest
• Invest in community-based supports and alternatives to detention, including housing, mental health and alcohol and drug support, education, and Aboriginal-led solutions
• Deliver accountability and justice for Cleveland Dodd and his family

Children belong in their communities, not in adult maximum security prison cells.

Add your name to the open letter and join the call for change.

 

To find out more about the inquest into Cleveland Dodd click here

Social Reinvestment WA

Dear Premier Cook, 

We represent leaders and community members from across Western Australia. 

The evidence revealed in the Coronial Inquest into the death of 16-year-old Cleveland Dodd in a maximum-security adult prison has been devastating and deeply confronting. 

It has been revealed that Unit 18 was never able to provide children the support they needed. Instead, children were locked down for more than 23 hours a day in conditions described as degrading and harmful. 

Cleveland spent 77 of his final 93 days in these conditions. 

He died inside a WA Government-run institution. His death was predictable. His repeated cries for help went unanswered. 

These facts shock and disturb us as Western Australians. 

Senior public servants testified that Unit 18 was founded on “a series of grievous lies”—claims that it would be safe, therapeutic or fit for children. 
But Unit 18 was not safe. It never could be. And it remains open to this day. 

It has exposed systemic failures in the management of youth detention, and these failings let down all of us who expect our government to uphold children's rights. 

Children and young people do not belong in adult maximum security prison cells. They belong with their families, communities, and support systems; going to school, playing sport, and living the childhood Cleveland loved. 

The findings of the inquest have laid bare the failures in how young people have been managed and supported. The cycle of harm in our government institutions must end. 

We call on you to: 
1. Close Unit 18 immediately, we cannot afford to wait until 2028.

2. Implement the Coronial Inquest recommendations.

3. Invest in help not harm, community not custody  — invest in genuine alternatives to prison that keep children safe,supported, and connected to the community, including housing, mental health and alcohol and
drug support, and alternative education, especially Aboriginal led approaches.

4. Deliver accountability, integrity and justice, including an apology and compensation for
Cleveland’s family, and referral of any unlawful behaviour revealed in the inquest to the proper
authorities.

We need a youth justice system built on help, not harm in Western Australia. 
One that rehabilitates children instead of endangering them. And keeps communities safe by responding to the root socio-economic causes of issues. 

We cannot wait until 2028. 
Please act now. 

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