An Aboriginal teenager has committed suicide in a youth prison in Western Australia (WA), Australia.
State authorities said the 17-year-old had only been detained for two days before he was found unresponsive in his cell on Thursday and could not be revived.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the most incarcerated people on the planet and die in custody at far higher rates than non-Indigenous Australians.
Deaths at juvenile detention centers are rare, however, and this was the second in the state in a year.
“This is a very, very horrific incident,” WA Premier Roger Cook said on Friday morning as he announced the investigation.
“Clearly a failure occurred and we will have the important task of understanding the situation.”
The teenager, who has not yet been identified, arrived at the center on Tuesday in an intoxicated state and was placed in the intensive care unit due to health concerns.
However, Corrections Commissioner Brad Royce told reporters there was no sign of mental distress.
The boy spent much of Thursday afternoon outside his cell and was checked on ten times by staff in the hours before his death.
Ten months ago, 16-year-old Cleveland Dodd became the first teenager to die in a WA youth detention centre.
Investigators this year cleared prison staff of serious misconduct but found significant errors that led to his death.
Royce said he reviewed the detention center video Thursday and was satisfied the staff’s response in the case was “appropriate.”
Cook said conditions in juvenile prisons across the state have improved since Cleveland’s death.
“I am more confident than ever in the way we manage our juvenile detention facilities,” he said.
Australia has been under international pressure to raise the age of criminal responsibility – which is as low as 10 in some states – and disproportionately affects Aboriginal children.
Conditions in juvenile detention centers have also drawn criticism from the international community, including the United Nations, which claims the centers violate international law, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
“This was an avoidable death. How many times, how many times, does the Western Australian government need warnings from experts about the dangers of its youth detention centres?” Amnesty International’s Kathy Tillman said in a statement.
Responding to questions about these long-standing concerns, Correctional Services Minister Paul Papalia said Thursday that “obvious, immediate, systemic changes are not needed.”
“We are responding as best we can and as required.”
If this story has caused you problems, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or if you are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander you can call 13-yarn 13 92 76.
