Department of Justice director general Adam Tomison resigns, the second top-rank departure after Unit 18 death

Department of Justice director general Adam Tomison has resigned, weeks after the State recorded the first death of a child in detention. Mike Reynolds was sacked as Corrective Services commissioner in October, less than a fortnight after 16-year-old Aboriginal boy Cleveland Dodd fatally self-harmed in his Unit 18 cell — a controversial facility within the maximum security adult Casuarina Prison. Attorney General John Quigley announced on Monday that Dr Tomison had submitted his resignation after seven years, saying he had played an integral role in improving WA’s justice system, while Corrective Services minister Paul Papalia said he hadn’t taken the responsibilities of the challenging role lightly. Dr Tomison said it had been a difficult decision to make. “But now is the right time for me professionally and personally to resign from Justice and consider new opportunities,” he said in a separate statement. “By far the most difficult challenge of my career has been youth detention and managing the complex cohort of young people who emerged post-pandemic with a level of violence and destructive behaviour not previously seen. “I am hopeful we have turned a corner, stabilised Banksia Hill and have a positive plan for a more enhanced therapeutic model and the development of a second facility to deliver safe and secure services for all young people in detention.” At least 20 people have tried to take their own lives inside Unit 18 since detainees from Banksia Hill deemed the most disruptive began to be housed there in July 2022 — more than one person a month on average. Shadow Corrective Services minister Peter Collier said a litany of problems in the State’s justice system - including a massive riot at Banksia Hill in May that caused $22 million worth of damage and staff shortages blamed for unlawful lockdowns of 22-23 hours per day - meant that change at the very top was needed. Another major controversy that erupted last year was disturbing footage of a 14-year-old Banksia Hill detainee being restrained by custodial officers with an aggressive, potentially deadly hogtie technique known as “figure four” or “folding up”, which prompted a 90-minute emergency summit and was then banned. “With all due respect, it is a very thankless position - you’re not going to get too much kudos,” Mr Collier said. “It’s a very difficult role. But having said that, I do like to think that his replacement will elicit some form of shift in the mindset for juvenile justice. “Decision making is top down. “All we’ve heard for the last six months is that he (Dr Tomison) is doing a good job and he’s in it for the long term. So you can read into that what you like.” WA Prison Officers’ Union secretary Andy Smith, who immediately called for Dr Tomison to step down after Mr Reynolds was sacked, said the system had been “horrendous” under his leadership, with metropolitan prisons each running 60-70 staff short each day. Assaults on staff had risen, attrition rates had jumped from six per month seven years ago to nearly 20 per month currently, and workers’ compensation claims had soared, Mr Smith said. “We’ve seen nothing but a decline in the safety and security of the system,” he told The West Australian. “Hopefully, we can get a replacement who can actually look at bringing the Corrective Services Department back up to where it was eight, nine years ago, which was one of the leaders in the country.” Mr Collier described Unit 18 as a “curse on the Western Australian landscape”, saying he feared it could be more than two years before it was closed given $1 million in funding to plan a new “high security” but “therapeutic” version alongside Banksia Hill was announced just days ago. Meanwhile, a long-awaited on-country diversionary facility in the Kimberley “hasn’t even got off the drawing board”, he noted. Dr Tomison will continue in the role until late January. Lifeline 13 11 14