Dr. Pettitt questions the Minister for Corrective Services about the Department of Justice's program to minimise ligature points in WA prisons, including funding and FTE allocation. The Minister responds that a dedicated program existed from 2005-2025, and ligature minimisation is now integrated into broader capital works and operational procedures.

AnsweredQoN 744Legislative Council
Asked
16 September 2025
Portfolio
Corrective Services

QuestionView source ↗

Prisons—Ligature points
744. Hon Dr Brad Pettitt to the minister representing
the Minister for Corrective Services:
I refer to the
article "We asked every Australian state why ligature points in jails had
not been removed. Here are their responses" published in The Guardian .
(1) What is the Department of Justice's specific
program to minimise ligature points, or is the removal of ligature points in WA
prisons undertaken on an ad hoc basis?
(2) If there is a specific program to minimise
ligature points in WA prisons:
(a) how much money has been allocated to this
program each financial year since 2005 and, if there is no specific funding for
the removal of ligature points in WA prisons, why not; and
(b) what is the current allocation of and actual
FTE respectively to the minimisation of ligature points in WA prisons?
The President: Honourable member, you are seeking a
lot of data, going back a long time.

AnswerView source ↗

Thank you,
President.
I thank the member
for some notice of the question, which was originally asked 20 August 2025, so
this response from the Minister for Corrective Services was correct at that
time.
(1)–(2) The Department of Justice advises
ligature minimisation is a critical component of the department's commitment to
custodial safety and suicide prevention. From 2005–06 to 2024–25,
$29.6 million was allocated as part of a dedicated ligature minimisation
program. Ligature minimisation funding is no longer delineated separately,
instead it is integrated across capital works, maintenance, infrastructure
upgrades and operational procedures to ensure ligature risks are consistently
identified and mitigated.

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