❓ Mr Castrilli asks about the Liberal-National government's efforts to address drug problems in prisons, particularly at Bunbury Regional Prison. The Minister details strategies including benchmark testing, loss of privileges for positive tests, and investment in rehabilitation programs, reporting positive results at Bunbury and plans for statewide rollout.
AnsweredQoN 483Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
BUNBURY
REGIONAL PRISON — DRUG TESTING
483. Mr
G.M. CASTRILLI to the Minister for Corrective Services:
Before I ask my question, I welcome the students and teachers
from the Brunswick Junction Primary School in the member for Murray–Wellington's
electorate. Welcome to the chamber.
Can the minister please update the house on what the Liberal–National
government has done to address the problem of drugs in prisons?
REGIONAL PRISON — DRUG TESTING
483. Mr
G.M. CASTRILLI to the Minister for Corrective Services:
Before I ask my question, I welcome the students and teachers
from the Brunswick Junction Primary School in the member for Murray–Wellington's
electorate. Welcome to the chamber.
Can the minister please update the house on what the Liberal–National
government has done to address the problem of drugs in prisons?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Bunbury for his continued patronage
and support of the Choose Respect campaign, which is centred around Bunbury
Regional Prison in that particular part of the world. Even in the metropolitan
area I see his bumper stickers —
Mr P.C. Tinley interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Willagee, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr P.C. Tinley interjected.
The SPEAKER : I call
you to order for the third time.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS : I
see the Choose Respect stickers, which relate to the welfare and rehabilitation
of prisoners in Bunbury Regional Prison. Of course, this is a very important
issue and the Liberal–National government is absolutely committed
because we believe that prisons should be drug-free. If we want to rehabilitate
prisoners, we have to get them to break the cycle of taking drugs. We have to
get them to dry out, and that is why we are doing what we can to get drugs out
of prisons.
Following a visit I made some time ago to Bunbury Regional
Prison and conversations I had with the prison officers and the superintendent,
Kerry Bishop, who highlighted the problem of drug use in the prison, and
following a report and comments made by the Office of the Inspector of
Custodial Services highlighting the issue of drug trafficking in Bunbury
Regional Prison some eight to 10 months ago, we came up with a strategy. That
predominantly revolved around not only rewarding the prisoners who did the
right thing, but also loss of privileges for those prisoners who tested
positive to drugs. We looked at it and we gave them all fair warning that a new
loss of privileges structure was coming into place.
In January, we benchmark tested every single prisoner in
Bunbury Regional Prison—all 318 of them—after they were warned,
and still 10 came back and tested positive. A month later, the same prisoners
were tested and, of course, seven of them came back drug-free. We had a significant
reduction in positive drug detection amongst the prisoners at Bunbury Regional
Prison. Recently the entire prison population in Bunbury Regional Prison, 324 prisoners,
was again benchmark tested. The results came back and were even better; only
two out of 324 prisoners had a positive drug test. That is less than 0.6 per cent.
The zero tolerance approach is obviously working. In the minimum-security
section, 25 random drug tests are taken out amongst the prisoners every single
month. Of course, since it started this year, only one prisoner has come back
with a positive drug test, and he was put back in the general population
section.
We are seeing a reduction in drug use at Bunbury Regional
Prison, which is a good thing for not only the community, because that is what
it expects us to do, but also the prisoners so we can help set them up for
success as they work their way through the prison system. We expect prisons to
be drug-free. As such, I have asked the Commissioner of Corrective Services to
look at options to roll out this approach to every other prison in the state.
The member for Swan Hills recently raised with me his concerns about drugs in
Wooroloo Prison Farm. That will happen there too, member for Swan Hills. This
is another example of Liberal–National government members of Parliament
caring about trying to get drugs out of prison. We have also invested $11.6 million
over the next two years in drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs in the Western
Australian prison system. We have also reformed the Department of Corrective
Services and WA Police joint agency team to tackle corruption and drug
smuggling in our prisons. We are committed to doing something about it. We are
doing something about it and we are getting results.
and support of the Choose Respect campaign, which is centred around Bunbury
Regional Prison in that particular part of the world. Even in the metropolitan
area I see his bumper stickers —
Mr P.C. Tinley interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Willagee, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr P.C. Tinley interjected.
The SPEAKER : I call
you to order for the third time.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS : I
see the Choose Respect stickers, which relate to the welfare and rehabilitation
of prisoners in Bunbury Regional Prison. Of course, this is a very important
issue and the Liberal–National government is absolutely committed
because we believe that prisons should be drug-free. If we want to rehabilitate
prisoners, we have to get them to break the cycle of taking drugs. We have to
get them to dry out, and that is why we are doing what we can to get drugs out
of prisons.
Following a visit I made some time ago to Bunbury Regional
Prison and conversations I had with the prison officers and the superintendent,
Kerry Bishop, who highlighted the problem of drug use in the prison, and
following a report and comments made by the Office of the Inspector of
Custodial Services highlighting the issue of drug trafficking in Bunbury
Regional Prison some eight to 10 months ago, we came up with a strategy. That
predominantly revolved around not only rewarding the prisoners who did the
right thing, but also loss of privileges for those prisoners who tested
positive to drugs. We looked at it and we gave them all fair warning that a new
loss of privileges structure was coming into place.
In January, we benchmark tested every single prisoner in
Bunbury Regional Prison—all 318 of them—after they were warned,
and still 10 came back and tested positive. A month later, the same prisoners
were tested and, of course, seven of them came back drug-free. We had a significant
reduction in positive drug detection amongst the prisoners at Bunbury Regional
Prison. Recently the entire prison population in Bunbury Regional Prison, 324 prisoners,
was again benchmark tested. The results came back and were even better; only
two out of 324 prisoners had a positive drug test. That is less than 0.6 per cent.
The zero tolerance approach is obviously working. In the minimum-security
section, 25 random drug tests are taken out amongst the prisoners every single
month. Of course, since it started this year, only one prisoner has come back
with a positive drug test, and he was put back in the general population
section.
We are seeing a reduction in drug use at Bunbury Regional
Prison, which is a good thing for not only the community, because that is what
it expects us to do, but also the prisoners so we can help set them up for
success as they work their way through the prison system. We expect prisons to
be drug-free. As such, I have asked the Commissioner of Corrective Services to
look at options to roll out this approach to every other prison in the state.
The member for Swan Hills recently raised with me his concerns about drugs in
Wooroloo Prison Farm. That will happen there too, member for Swan Hills. This
is another example of Liberal–National government members of Parliament
caring about trying to get drugs out of prison. We have also invested $11.6 million
over the next two years in drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs in the Western
Australian prison system. We have also reformed the Department of Corrective
Services and WA Police joint agency team to tackle corruption and drug
smuggling in our prisons. We are committed to doing something about it. We are
doing something about it and we are getting results.
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