❓ Hon. Alison Xamon inquires about virtual visit options and free phone calls for prisoners and detainees following COVID-19 visit suspensions. The Minister for Corrective Services confirms increased virtual visit capacity and free, unrestricted phone access.
AnsweredQoN 332Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS —
PRISONS — VIRTUAL VISITS
332. Hon ALISON XAMON to the minister representing the
Minister for Corrective Services:
I refer to the response to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
(1) What
additional or expanded options have been provided to facilitate virtual visits
following the suspension of visits at —
(a) Banksia Hill
Detention Centre; and
(b) other
corrections facilities?
(2) How often can prisoners or
young people use these communication platforms?
(3) Are there any costs involved
for the prisoners or detainees?
(4) Given current restrictions on
visits, are prisoners provided with any free phone calls?
(5) If no to (4), why not?
(6) If yes to (4), how many?
PRISONS — VIRTUAL VISITS
332. Hon ALISON XAMON to the minister representing the
Minister for Corrective Services:
I refer to the response to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
(1) What
additional or expanded options have been provided to facilitate virtual visits
following the suspension of visits at —
(a) Banksia Hill
Detention Centre; and
(b) other
corrections facilities?
(2) How often can prisoners or
young people use these communication platforms?
(3) Are there any costs involved
for the prisoners or detainees?
(4) Given current restrictions on
visits, are prisoners provided with any free phone calls?
(5) If no to (4), why not?
(6) If yes to (4), how many?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank Hon Alison Xamon for some
notice of the question. The following answer has been provided by the Minister
for Corrective Services.
(1) (a) At
Banksia Hill Detention Centre an additional eight computers and webcams
provided to facilitate virtual visits will be operational by the end of the
week.
(b) At all other
facilities, Skype and e-visits facilitation is in place for each prison.
Processes are in place to increase services at facilities.
(2) Access to the services will be
available to prisoners and young people upon request.
(3) No. There is nil cost for
prisoners or young people.
(4) All prisoner and detainee
telephone calls are free.
(5) Not applicable.
(6) Access is
unrestricted for both young people and prisoners. However, some sites have
implemented roster systems to ensure access is equitable to all prisoners and
detainees.
notice of the question. The following answer has been provided by the Minister
for Corrective Services.
(1) (a) At
Banksia Hill Detention Centre an additional eight computers and webcams
provided to facilitate virtual visits will be operational by the end of the
week.
(b) At all other
facilities, Skype and e-visits facilitation is in place for each prison.
Processes are in place to increase services at facilities.
(2) Access to the services will be
available to prisoners and young people upon request.
(3) No. There is nil cost for
prisoners or young people.
(4) All prisoner and detainee
telephone calls are free.
(5) Not applicable.
(6) Access is
unrestricted for both young people and prisoners. However, some sites have
implemented roster systems to ensure access is equitable to all prisoners and
detainees.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.