Casuarina: Shocking number of inmates self-harming, attempting suicide at Unit 18 after Banksia Hill move

Two-thirds of the young offenders who were moved from controversy-plagued Banksia Hill to a special unit within Casuarina adult prison have hurt themselves or tried to take their own lives since it was established seven months ago.

In response to questions in parliament, it was revealed that 25 of 37 distinct offenders who had been in Unit 18 between July 20 and February 15 had engaged in self-harm or attempted suicide.

Of the self-harm incidents, 25 were minor, two were serious and seven were attempted suicides.

Shadow corrective services minister Peter Collier said the State Government’s punitive approach to youth justice and rolling lockdowns blamed on staff shortages was clearly having tragic outcomes.

“At the moment, it seems to me that the modus operandi of the government is to is to demonize these kids,” Mr Collier told The West Australian, referring to Premier Mark McGowan repeatedly pointing to serious offences committed by the detainees when asked about ongoing unrest at the facility.

“There must be a culture of rehabilitation in Banksia Hill.

“I really fear for the lives of these kids.

“If we keep on going down this path, inevitably, one of these kids is going to succeed with self-harm or suicide and that will be a terrible, terrible reflection of where we’re at.”

Asked in Question Time whether the detainees were being kept safe, Corrective Services Minister Bill Johnston responded that Unit 18 was not part of the adult prison’s estate.

“And I remind everybody about this: there was a crisis of safety at Banksia Hill because there was a small cohort of young offenders attacking the staff.

“If you do not protect the staff, then there is no possibility of providing a rehabilitative environment.

“And until the staff are safe, then no one is safe.”

Asked again, Mr Johnston said it was unfortunate the courts determined “these young offenders are responsible for their behaviour”.

“Because let me tell you, it would be a lot easier to manage the corrective estate if they decided that they were mentally incapacitated.

“And then the Minister for Health and the Minister for Mental Health would need to deal with these young offenders.”

He then insisted the youths were provided with “every service that anybody in the community has asked for” including psychologists and psychiatrists, and an Aboriginal cultural unit given 75 per cent of the detainees were Indigenous.

Mr Johnston said he did not apologise for maintaining that his priorities, in order of importance, were protecting the community and staff, and then providing a therapeutic environment for detainees.

Anyone who attacked him for that was “out of touch with the community”.

Earlier on Wednesday, federal NDIS Minister Bill Shorten was asked about the crisis at Banksia Hill, where the vast majority of detainees have FASD or other cognitive impairments.

“If they’ve broken the law, I’m not condoning that at all, but if there’s a trigger or something to do with their developmental delay, we’ve got to treat that,” Mr Shorten told reporters.

“Otherwise, we’re just creating a revolving door. That young person will be in prison their whole life and it’s an expensive waste of a human person.”

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