Woman fears her teen grandson may die if transferred with other boys to WA adult prison

The grandmother, who cannot be named because it would identify her grandson, said child protection authorities came to her door to tell her he would be moved to Casuarina prison from Banksia Hill.

She said the Noongar teenager struggled with mental health, self-harm and trauma after being shuttled between various foster homes and the streets.

Banksia Hill has been plagued by deteriorating relationships between staff and inmates, and a series of human rights concerns.

She said the teenager had serious trauma and behavioural issues, but believed that he was not getting the intensive support required to help him cope.

Megan Krakouer of the National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project, said attempted suicides and self-harm among detainees at Banksia Hill was reaching crisis point.

A recent report by the WA Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services found there were 24 attempted suicides at Banksia Hill between January and November 2021, and self-harm and threats of self-harm were on the rise.

The Noongar woman urged the state government to consider alternatives rather than transferring the young people to Casuarina.

The department said 30 cells were unfit for purpose and 100 had sustained damage, with costs expected to exceed $1.8m.

It found confining detainees to small cells for long stretches breached international human rights standards and led to a rise in self-injury.

Detainees in the intensive support unit were spending on average less than four and half hours out of their cells in November, compared with nearly eight in February.