❓ Mr. Quigley asks about the government's response to the Chief Justice's concerns regarding inadequacies in the Criminal Law (Mentally Impaired Accused) Act. Mr. Porter acknowledges the concerns and outlines steps being taken to address the issue, particularly the lack of suitable facilities for mentally impaired accused who pose a community safety risk.
AnsweredQoN 124Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
mARLON nOBLE — IMPRISONMENT
I have a supplementary question. Given the Attorney General’s statement that he can release on conditions or not, is the Attorney aware that the government was alerted by comments from the Chief Justice of Western Australia on 18 June 2010 that there are significant inadequacies in the Criminal Law (Mentally Impaired Accused) Act regarding a number of matters relating to prisoners of this category? What steps has the government taken to address the deficiencies identified by the Chief Justice? Mr C.C. PORTER
I have a supplementary question. Given the Attorney General’s statement that he can release on conditions or not, is the Attorney aware that the government was alerted by comments from the Chief Justice of Western Australia on 18 June 2010 that there are significant inadequacies in the Criminal Law (Mentally Impaired Accused) Act regarding a number of matters relating to prisoners of this category? What steps has the government taken to address the deficiencies identified by the Chief Justice? Mr C.C. PORTER
AnswerView source ↗
I am aware of those comments. In fact, I have had discussions with the Chief Justice about this and matters related to the Criminal Law (Mentally Impaired Accused) Act. The Chief Justice had a number of comments. First and foremost amongst them, and I think a very serious one, is that when a custody order is made—if a court determines a person is unfit to stand trial but cannot be released back into the community for reasons of community safety; and we are often dealing with serious offences and offenders—it has certain options for where a person can be detained. The court can determine to detain the person in an authorised hospital, in a declared place or in a detention centre if the person is under 18 years of age or in a prison. The fact is that under both the member for Mindarie’s government and our government there has never been such a thing as a declared place. The realistic options for a court are an authorised hospital or a detention centre. The act provides that a person can be detained in an authorised hospital only if the person is capable of being treated. If a generic or physiological problem has caused the mental impairment, the hospital option is not available. At present that means only the prison option is available. The number of people under these types of orders is very, very small. Mr M. McGowan : How many? Mr C.C. PORTER : About 18 or 20, I would say—a small number. Some of these individuals would still have to be detained in a prison because the level of community safety and risk is so high that another setting would not be suitable. But a smaller subgroup would no doubt be better served by having such a thing as a “declared place”, but it would be a unique, small facility. That is something I am working towards with the Minister for Mental Health. Indeed, having received the report from the chair of the Mentally Impaired Accused Review Board on this matter, I sought permission to refer the original report, which did not recommend release, to the Minister for Mental Health on precisely this issue of a declared place. More can be done but it is a very difficult, high-need, small and exclusive cohort of prisoners, and, ultimately, even if such a declared place were available, the most important feature in all this is community safety.
Mr C.C. PORTER replied: I am aware of those comments. In fact, I have had discussions with the Chief Justice about this and matters related to the Criminal Law (Mentally Impaired Accused) Act. The Chief Justice had a number of comments. First and foremost amongst them, and I think a very serious one, is that when a custody order is made—if a court determines a person is unfit to stand trial but cannot be released back into the community for reasons of community safety; and we are often dealing with serious offences and offenders—it has certain options for where a person can be detained. The court can determine to detain the person in an authorised hospital, in a declared place or in a detention centre if the person is under 18 years of age or in a prison. The fact is that under both the member for Mindarie’s government and our government there has never been such a thing as a declared place. The realistic options for a court are an authorised hospital or a detention centre. The act provides that a person can be detained in an authorised hospital only if the person is capable of being treated. If a generic or physiological problem has caused the mental impairment, the hospital option is not available. At present that means only the prison option is available. The number of people under these types of orders is very, very small. Mr M. McGowan : How many? Mr C.C. PORTER : About 18 or 20, I would say—a small number. Some of these individuals would still have to be detained in a prison because the level of community safety and risk is so high that another setting would not be suitable. But a smaller subgroup would no doubt be better served by having such a thing as a “declared place”, but it would be a unique, small facility. That is something I am working towards with the Minister for Mental Health. Indeed, having received the report from the chair of the Mentally Impaired Accused Review Board on this matter, I sought permission to refer the original report, which did not recommend release, to the Minister for Mental Health on precisely this issue of a declared place. More can be done but it is a very difficult, high-need, small and exclusive cohort of prisoners, and, ultimately, even if such a declared place were available, the most important feature in all this is community safety.
I am aware of those comments. In fact, I have had discussions with the Chief Justice about this and matters related to the Criminal Law (Mentally Impaired Accused) Act. The Chief Justice had a number of comments. First and foremost amongst them, and I think a very serious one, is that when a custody order is made—if a court determines a person is unfit to stand trial but cannot be released back into the community for reasons of community safety; and we are often dealing with serious offences and offenders—it has certain options for where a person can be detained. The court can determine to detain the person in an authorised hospital, in a declared place or in a detention centre if the person is under 18 years of age or in a prison. The fact is that under both the member for Mindarie’s government and our government there has never been such a thing as a declared place. The realistic options for a court are an authorised hospital or a detention centre. The act provides that a person can be detained in an authorised hospital only if the person is capable of being treated. If a generic or physiological problem has caused the mental impairment, the hospital option is not available. At present that means only the prison option is available. The number of people under these types of orders is very, very small. Mr M. McGowan : How many? Mr C.C. PORTER : About 18 or 20, I would say—a small number. Some of these individuals would still have to be detained in a prison because the level of community safety and risk is so high that another setting would not be suitable. But a smaller subgroup would no doubt be better served by having such a thing as a “declared place”, but it would be a unique, small facility. That is something I am working towards with the Minister for Mental Health. Indeed, having received the report from the chair of the Mentally Impaired Accused Review Board on this matter, I sought permission to refer the original report, which did not recommend release, to the Minister for Mental Health on precisely this issue of a declared place. More can be done but it is a very difficult, high-need, small and exclusive cohort of prisoners, and, ultimately, even if such a declared place were available, the most important feature in all this is community safety.
Mr M. McGowan : How many? Mr C.C. PORTER : About 18 or 20, I would say—a small number. Some of these individuals would still have to be detained in a prison because the level of community safety and risk is so high that another setting would not be suitable. But a smaller subgroup would no doubt be better served by having such a thing as a “declared place”, but it would be a unique, small facility. That is something I am working towards with the Minister for Mental Health. Indeed, having received the report from the chair of the Mentally Impaired Accused Review Board on this matter, I sought permission to refer the original report, which did not recommend release, to the Minister for Mental Health on precisely this issue of a declared place. More can be done but it is a very difficult, high-need, small and exclusive cohort of prisoners, and, ultimately, even if such a declared place were available, the most important feature in all this is community safety.
Mr C.C. PORTER : About 18 or 20, I would say—a small number. Some of these individuals would still have to be detained in a prison because the level of community safety and risk is so high that another setting would not be suitable. But a smaller subgroup would no doubt be better served by having such a thing as a “declared place”, but it would be a unique, small facility. That is something I am working towards with the Minister for Mental Health. Indeed, having received the report from the chair of the Mentally Impaired Accused Review Board on this matter, I sought permission to refer the original report, which did not recommend release, to the Minister for Mental Health on precisely this issue of a declared place. More can be done but it is a very difficult, high-need, small and exclusive cohort of prisoners, and, ultimately, even if such a declared place were available, the most important feature in all this is community safety.
Mr C.C. PORTER replied: I am aware of those comments. In fact, I have had discussions with the Chief Justice about this and matters related to the Criminal Law (Mentally Impaired Accused) Act. The Chief Justice had a number of comments. First and foremost amongst them, and I think a very serious one, is that when a custody order is made—if a court determines a person is unfit to stand trial but cannot be released back into the community for reasons of community safety; and we are often dealing with serious offences and offenders—it has certain options for where a person can be detained. The court can determine to detain the person in an authorised hospital, in a declared place or in a detention centre if the person is under 18 years of age or in a prison. The fact is that under both the member for Mindarie’s government and our government there has never been such a thing as a declared place. The realistic options for a court are an authorised hospital or a detention centre. The act provides that a person can be detained in an authorised hospital only if the person is capable of being treated. If a generic or physiological problem has caused the mental impairment, the hospital option is not available. At present that means only the prison option is available. The number of people under these types of orders is very, very small. Mr M. McGowan : How many? Mr C.C. PORTER : About 18 or 20, I would say—a small number. Some of these individuals would still have to be detained in a prison because the level of community safety and risk is so high that another setting would not be suitable. But a smaller subgroup would no doubt be better served by having such a thing as a “declared place”, but it would be a unique, small facility. That is something I am working towards with the Minister for Mental Health. Indeed, having received the report from the chair of the Mentally Impaired Accused Review Board on this matter, I sought permission to refer the original report, which did not recommend release, to the Minister for Mental Health on precisely this issue of a declared place. More can be done but it is a very difficult, high-need, small and exclusive cohort of prisoners, and, ultimately, even if such a declared place were available, the most important feature in all this is community safety.
I am aware of those comments. In fact, I have had discussions with the Chief Justice about this and matters related to the Criminal Law (Mentally Impaired Accused) Act. The Chief Justice had a number of comments. First and foremost amongst them, and I think a very serious one, is that when a custody order is made—if a court determines a person is unfit to stand trial but cannot be released back into the community for reasons of community safety; and we are often dealing with serious offences and offenders—it has certain options for where a person can be detained. The court can determine to detain the person in an authorised hospital, in a declared place or in a detention centre if the person is under 18 years of age or in a prison. The fact is that under both the member for Mindarie’s government and our government there has never been such a thing as a declared place. The realistic options for a court are an authorised hospital or a detention centre. The act provides that a person can be detained in an authorised hospital only if the person is capable of being treated. If a generic or physiological problem has caused the mental impairment, the hospital option is not available. At present that means only the prison option is available. The number of people under these types of orders is very, very small. Mr M. McGowan : How many? Mr C.C. PORTER : About 18 or 20, I would say—a small number. Some of these individuals would still have to be detained in a prison because the level of community safety and risk is so high that another setting would not be suitable. But a smaller subgroup would no doubt be better served by having such a thing as a “declared place”, but it would be a unique, small facility. That is something I am working towards with the Minister for Mental Health. Indeed, having received the report from the chair of the Mentally Impaired Accused Review Board on this matter, I sought permission to refer the original report, which did not recommend release, to the Minister for Mental Health on precisely this issue of a declared place. More can be done but it is a very difficult, high-need, small and exclusive cohort of prisoners, and, ultimately, even if such a declared place were available, the most important feature in all this is community safety.
Mr M. McGowan : How many? Mr C.C. PORTER : About 18 or 20, I would say—a small number. Some of these individuals would still have to be detained in a prison because the level of community safety and risk is so high that another setting would not be suitable. But a smaller subgroup would no doubt be better served by having such a thing as a “declared place”, but it would be a unique, small facility. That is something I am working towards with the Minister for Mental Health. Indeed, having received the report from the chair of the Mentally Impaired Accused Review Board on this matter, I sought permission to refer the original report, which did not recommend release, to the Minister for Mental Health on precisely this issue of a declared place. More can be done but it is a very difficult, high-need, small and exclusive cohort of prisoners, and, ultimately, even if such a declared place were available, the most important feature in all this is community safety.
Mr C.C. PORTER : About 18 or 20, I would say—a small number. Some of these individuals would still have to be detained in a prison because the level of community safety and risk is so high that another setting would not be suitable. But a smaller subgroup would no doubt be better served by having such a thing as a “declared place”, but it would be a unique, small facility. That is something I am working towards with the Minister for Mental Health. Indeed, having received the report from the chair of the Mentally Impaired Accused Review Board on this matter, I sought permission to refer the original report, which did not recommend release, to the Minister for Mental Health on precisely this issue of a declared place. More can be done but it is a very difficult, high-need, small and exclusive cohort of prisoners, and, ultimately, even if such a declared place were available, the most important feature in all this is community safety.
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