❓ WA Parliamentary Question on Notice regarding the Inspector of Custodial Services' report on Broome Regional Prison, focusing on culturally specific programs, staffing, education, and safety concerns, with detailed responses from the Department of Corrective Services.
AnsweredQoN 6032Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to Report 77 of the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services 'Report of an Announced Inspection of Broome Regional Prison', and I ask —
(1) Regarding the Inspector's statement at footnote 115 on page 65 that your department's response to Recommendation 4 does not meet avowed objectives of the West Kimberley Regional Prison for innovation and development of culturally specific initiatives in conjunction with Kimberley Aboriginal people —
(a) what action if any are you taking to remedy this; and
(b) what Kimberley-specific offender programs that meet those objectives will be available when the new prison opens, and how often will they run?
(2) Regarding the Inspector's statement at footnote 116 on page 66 that your department has not responded to Recommendation 5, will the Minister ensure that there is additional staff coverage in reception Monday to Friday using existing staff?
(3) Regarding the Inspector's statement at footnote 117 on page 66 that your department's allegation in response to Recommendation 6 that it is not viable to re-introduce education services to prisoners in the secure section for reasons based on the configuration of the area and prisoners' length of stay is not accurate because despite those factors education services were previously provided by a male tutor for a considerable period of time until the tutor left —
(a) why has a replacement tutor not been engaged;
(b) is it correct, as the Inspector states in that footnote, that prison management does not consider it appropriate for a female tutor to be engaged to provide this service;
(c) if yes to (3)(b) —
(i) why;
(ii) what arrangements need to be in place to address those concerns; and
(iii) why aren't those arrangements in place, or available to be put in place?
(4) Regarding the Inspector's statements at footnote 118 on page 66 in respect of your department's response to Recommendation 7 —
(a) what is the cost for an in-house maintenance crew to do the welding to make top bunk beds compliant with the Department of Corrective Services' standards;
(b) how likely is it that the lack of secured ladders, rails and roll protection for top bunks will lead to a prisoner being injured (please explain the reasoning behind this assessment); and
(c) given the health of prisoners at Broome Regional Prison, what is the likely nature of such injury?
(5) Regarding the Inspector's statement at footnote 119 on page 66 in respect of your department's response to Recommendation 9, will the West Kimberley Regional Prison have a full-time Women's Support Officer?
(6) Regarding the Inspector's statement at footnote 120 on page 68, does the Minister/your department consider additional training as described in Recommendation 17 is required?
(7) If no to (6), given the findings of the inspection, why not?
(8) If yes to (6), what steps have been taken to ensure that extra training is provided?
(1) Regarding the Inspector's statement at footnote 115 on page 65 that your department's response to Recommendation 4 does not meet avowed objectives of the West Kimberley Regional Prison for innovation and development of culturally specific initiatives in conjunction with Kimberley Aboriginal people —
(a) what action if any are you taking to remedy this; and
(b) what Kimberley-specific offender programs that meet those objectives will be available when the new prison opens, and how often will they run?
(2) Regarding the Inspector's statement at footnote 116 on page 66 that your department has not responded to Recommendation 5, will the Minister ensure that there is additional staff coverage in reception Monday to Friday using existing staff?
(3) Regarding the Inspector's statement at footnote 117 on page 66 that your department's allegation in response to Recommendation 6 that it is not viable to re-introduce education services to prisoners in the secure section for reasons based on the configuration of the area and prisoners' length of stay is not accurate because despite those factors education services were previously provided by a male tutor for a considerable period of time until the tutor left —
(a) why has a replacement tutor not been engaged;
(b) is it correct, as the Inspector states in that footnote, that prison management does not consider it appropriate for a female tutor to be engaged to provide this service;
(c) if yes to (3)(b) —
(i) why;
(ii) what arrangements need to be in place to address those concerns; and
(iii) why aren't those arrangements in place, or available to be put in place?
(4) Regarding the Inspector's statements at footnote 118 on page 66 in respect of your department's response to Recommendation 7 —
(a) what is the cost for an in-house maintenance crew to do the welding to make top bunk beds compliant with the Department of Corrective Services' standards;
(b) how likely is it that the lack of secured ladders, rails and roll protection for top bunks will lead to a prisoner being injured (please explain the reasoning behind this assessment); and
(c) given the health of prisoners at Broome Regional Prison, what is the likely nature of such injury?
(5) Regarding the Inspector's statement at footnote 119 on page 66 in respect of your department's response to Recommendation 9, will the West Kimberley Regional Prison have a full-time Women's Support Officer?
(6) Regarding the Inspector's statement at footnote 120 on page 68, does the Minister/your department consider additional training as described in Recommendation 17 is required?
(7) If no to (6), given the findings of the inspection, why not?
(8) If yes to (6), what steps have been taken to ensure that extra training is provided?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
23 October 2012
Responded by
Minister for Education representing the Minister for Corrective Services
Response time
35 days
(1)(a) The Department of Corrective Services (the Department) advises that a suite of suitable rehabilitation programs targeting violent offending, addictions offending, sexual offending and cognitive skills will be offered in custodial settings at the new West Kimberley Regional Prison (WKRP). The purpose of these programs is to address the behaviour of offenders assessed as having outstanding treatment needs and to promote pro-social lifestyles. The program delivery schedule has been developed with due consideration of the demographic/offending patterns in the Kimberley region. The response to Recommendation 4 is appropriate in that the operating model for the WKRP will take time to develop as staff and prisoners adapt to the different surroundings and philosophy of the prison. As was the case with the Boronia Women's Pre-Release Centre, the success of the new approach does not happen overnight.
The specific cultural needs of the Kimberley Aboriginal people have also been factored into the delivery of these programs. All the programs will be delivered in a culturally-responsive manner, customised to suit the offenders residing in the WKRP and the local community. Specific consideration will be given to:
· local health and wellness concerns;
· literacy requirements;
· employment opportunities in the region;
· local art and culture;
· health and well-being;
· need for interpreters and links with community supports; and
· spiritual considerations and liaison with local Aboriginal Elders.
(1)(b) The Department's capacity to develop treatment programs specifically for offenders of the Kimberley regions is limited by current resources. However, as stated above, the specific needs of offenders from this region will be met through the delivery of customised programs.
Further, Aboriginal-specific programs will be provided at WKRP to traditional Aboriginal offenders who, for a variety of reasons, are unsuitable for inclusion in mainstream programs (being moved out of country, language barriers, and other cultural barriers). These programs include:
· Indigenous Men Managing Anger and Substance Use;
· Indigenous Family Violence; and
· Building on Aboriginal Skills (cognitive skills).
In addition, culturally responsive programs will be provided to Aboriginal offenders who are suitable for inclusion in mainstream programs. For example, the Cognitive Brief Intervention cognitive skills program has been scheduled at WKRP to address the needs of culturally combined offender groups.
In relation to how often programs are run; the Department's programs are scheduled according to assessed demand. This demand is regularly reviewed, monitored, and adjusted accordingly on a quarterly basis. Local demand and cultural needs are also a guiding principle in scheduling programs.
(2) The Department's response is included in the report on page 66 and advises that Recommendation 5 is supported as an existing Departmental initiative. Effective from 7 September 2012, Broome Regional Prison (BRP) changed its roster in the Reception area from a 10 hour to a 12 hour shift in order to facilitate increased coverage. In addition, duty statements were amended to provide that senior staff would deploy staff to cover busy times in Reception. Therefore, no additional staff are required.
(3)(a) The Inspector's statement at footnote 117 on page 66 refers to educational services that were provided to prisoners prior to changes in operating procedures at BRP. These changes resulted in secure section prisoners being held for significantly less time (no more than approximately two weeks) and so only minimal services could be provided. As meaningful education could not be delivered due to the prisoners' length of stay, the service was eventually discontinued on the grounds of a lack of viability.
In addition, the opening of the WKRP will result in these prisoners being held for no more than approximately 96 hours prior to being transferred to another prison and further reduce the viability of providing education services. Also, full education services will be provided at the WKRP.
(3)(b) No.
(3)(c)(i)-(iii) Not applicable.
(4)(a) An in house maintenance crew can have and have had assigned to their workload the repair to bunk beds. Such work is paid in line with the normal rates of pay as part of the prisoner employment and skill development intervention and covered within the prison budget.
(4)(b) Bunk beds supplied through the Department's standards requirements have a secure ladder, rail and roll protection.
(4)(c) See response to (4)(b).
(5) Yes. The Department advises that a full-time Women's Support Officer has been appointed to WKRP.
(6)-(8) The Department is not clear in the definition of 'additional training' and therefore advises the following. The Department supports the ongoing development of the skills and knowledge of its employees.
As per the Inspector's recommendation 17 'Provide training in mental health first aid and drug and alcohol issues to all custodial staff. Ensure that all health centre staff receive training in mental health', the Department has provided, for example, the following training:
· Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid was conducted for the Department's staff in Broome in November; and December 2011 and June 2012.
· As of 17 January 2012 the Nursing staff had received Mental Health first aid training.
· In June 2011 BRP Health Services staff undertook Cultural Safety Training provided by the Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia.
· Gatekeeper training was delivered in Broome in December 2011 and July 2012. Staff were also offered the opportunity to attend a Gatekeeper course at the Academy in February 2012.
· One staff member from Broome attended the Drug and Alcohol conference in August 2012.
· Drug and Alcohol training is scheduled once per month at BRP.
· Training in ATSI Mental Health First Aid and Gatekeeper is planned for November 2012. All staff requiring this training are scheduled to attend, including medical staff.
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The specific cultural needs of the Kimberley Aboriginal people have also been factored into the delivery of these programs. All the programs will be delivered in a culturally-responsive manner, customised to suit the offenders residing in the WKRP and the local community. Specific consideration will be given to:
· local health and wellness concerns;
· literacy requirements;
· employment opportunities in the region;
· local art and culture;
· health and well-being;
· need for interpreters and links with community supports; and
· spiritual considerations and liaison with local Aboriginal Elders.
(1)(b) The Department's capacity to develop treatment programs specifically for offenders of the Kimberley regions is limited by current resources. However, as stated above, the specific needs of offenders from this region will be met through the delivery of customised programs.
Further, Aboriginal-specific programs will be provided at WKRP to traditional Aboriginal offenders who, for a variety of reasons, are unsuitable for inclusion in mainstream programs (being moved out of country, language barriers, and other cultural barriers). These programs include:
· Indigenous Men Managing Anger and Substance Use;
· Indigenous Family Violence; and
· Building on Aboriginal Skills (cognitive skills).
In addition, culturally responsive programs will be provided to Aboriginal offenders who are suitable for inclusion in mainstream programs. For example, the Cognitive Brief Intervention cognitive skills program has been scheduled at WKRP to address the needs of culturally combined offender groups.
In relation to how often programs are run; the Department's programs are scheduled according to assessed demand. This demand is regularly reviewed, monitored, and adjusted accordingly on a quarterly basis. Local demand and cultural needs are also a guiding principle in scheduling programs.
(2) The Department's response is included in the report on page 66 and advises that Recommendation 5 is supported as an existing Departmental initiative. Effective from 7 September 2012, Broome Regional Prison (BRP) changed its roster in the Reception area from a 10 hour to a 12 hour shift in order to facilitate increased coverage. In addition, duty statements were amended to provide that senior staff would deploy staff to cover busy times in Reception. Therefore, no additional staff are required.
(3)(a) The Inspector's statement at footnote 117 on page 66 refers to educational services that were provided to prisoners prior to changes in operating procedures at BRP. These changes resulted in secure section prisoners being held for significantly less time (no more than approximately two weeks) and so only minimal services could be provided. As meaningful education could not be delivered due to the prisoners' length of stay, the service was eventually discontinued on the grounds of a lack of viability.
In addition, the opening of the WKRP will result in these prisoners being held for no more than approximately 96 hours prior to being transferred to another prison and further reduce the viability of providing education services. Also, full education services will be provided at the WKRP.
(3)(b) No.
(3)(c)(i)-(iii) Not applicable.
(4)(a) An in house maintenance crew can have and have had assigned to their workload the repair to bunk beds. Such work is paid in line with the normal rates of pay as part of the prisoner employment and skill development intervention and covered within the prison budget.
(4)(b) Bunk beds supplied through the Department's standards requirements have a secure ladder, rail and roll protection.
(4)(c) See response to (4)(b).
(5) Yes. The Department advises that a full-time Women's Support Officer has been appointed to WKRP.
(6)-(8) The Department is not clear in the definition of 'additional training' and therefore advises the following. The Department supports the ongoing development of the skills and knowledge of its employees.
As per the Inspector's recommendation 17 'Provide training in mental health first aid and drug and alcohol issues to all custodial staff. Ensure that all health centre staff receive training in mental health', the Department has provided, for example, the following training:
· Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid was conducted for the Department's staff in Broome in November; and December 2011 and June 2012.
· As of 17 January 2012 the Nursing staff had received Mental Health first aid training.
· In June 2011 BRP Health Services staff undertook Cultural Safety Training provided by the Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia.
· Gatekeeper training was delivered in Broome in December 2011 and July 2012. Staff were also offered the opportunity to attend a Gatekeeper course at the Academy in February 2012.
· One staff member from Broome attended the Drug and Alcohol conference in August 2012.
· Drug and Alcohol training is scheduled once per month at BRP.
· Training in ATSI Mental Health First Aid and Gatekeeper is planned for November 2012. All staff requiring this training are scheduled to attend, including medical staff.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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