❓ Mr. Logan questions the Minister for Corrective Services regarding the escape of Ronald Rowles, focusing on his minimum-security classification and the circumstances of his hospital visit. The Minister responds by acknowledging the escape, defending the classification process, and highlighting the overall good record of prisoner transfers and appointments.
AnsweredQoN 667Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
RONALD ROWLES — PRISONer ESCAPE
I draw the minister’s attention to the escape of Mr Ronald Rowles, a prisoner receiving medical attention at Royal Perth Hospital yesterday, and the subsequent robbery at Westpac, Northbridge. (1) Why was Mr Rowles, a convicted armed robber of the same bank that was robbed yesterday, classified as a minimum-security prisoner and housed at Wooroloo Prison Farm? (2) Why did Mr Rowles attend hospital unrestrained, with only one officer escorting him? (3) Mr Rowles is the second prisoner to escape from the Department of Corrective Services’ custody this week; what, as minister, is the Minister for Corrective Services doing about it? Mr D.T. REDMAN
I draw the minister’s attention to the escape of Mr Ronald Rowles, a prisoner receiving medical attention at Royal Perth Hospital yesterday, and the subsequent robbery at Westpac, Northbridge. (1) Why was Mr Rowles, a convicted armed robber of the same bank that was robbed yesterday, classified as a minimum-security prisoner and housed at Wooroloo Prison Farm? (2) Why did Mr Rowles attend hospital unrestrained, with only one officer escorting him? (3) Mr Rowles is the second prisoner to escape from the Department of Corrective Services’ custody this week; what, as minister, is the Minister for Corrective Services doing about it? Mr D.T. REDMAN
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. (1)–(3) Yes, the member is quite right. A 51-year-old prisoner escaped from Royal Perth Hospital yesterday while under the supervision of a DCS officer, and I want to respond to the particular questions that were raised. The prisoner was a minimum-security prisoner; he was classified on two occasions as such, once in January this year and again in June. That classification was made on two occasions. Yes, there is a very, very rigorous process that is clearly not perfect and clearly people that worked through — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn and member for Girrawheen, I suggest you stop interjecting. Member for Cockburn, the minister is answering your questions. If you want to ask a supplementary question, get to your feet afterwards and ask him a supplementary question. I suggest to you and to the member for Girrawheen that you enable the minister to answer those questions. Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
(1) Why was Mr Rowles, a convicted armed robber of the same bank that was robbed yesterday, classified as a minimum-security prisoner and housed at Wooroloo Prison Farm? (2) Why did Mr Rowles attend hospital unrestrained, with only one officer escorting him? (3) Mr Rowles is the second prisoner to escape from the Department of Corrective Services’ custody this week; what, as minister, is the Minister for Corrective Services doing about it? Mr D.T. REDMAN replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. (1)–(3) Yes, the member is quite right. A 51-year-old prisoner escaped from Royal Perth Hospital yesterday while under the supervision of a DCS officer, and I want to respond to the particular questions that were raised. The prisoner was a minimum-security prisoner; he was classified on two occasions as such, once in January this year and again in June. That classification was made on two occasions. Yes, there is a very, very rigorous process that is clearly not perfect and clearly people that worked through — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn and member for Girrawheen, I suggest you stop interjecting. Member for Cockburn, the minister is answering your questions. If you want to ask a supplementary question, get to your feet afterwards and ask him a supplementary question. I suggest to you and to the member for Girrawheen that you enable the minister to answer those questions. Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
(2) Why did Mr Rowles attend hospital unrestrained, with only one officer escorting him? (3) Mr Rowles is the second prisoner to escape from the Department of Corrective Services’ custody this week; what, as minister, is the Minister for Corrective Services doing about it? Mr D.T. REDMAN replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. (1)–(3) Yes, the member is quite right. A 51-year-old prisoner escaped from Royal Perth Hospital yesterday while under the supervision of a DCS officer, and I want to respond to the particular questions that were raised. The prisoner was a minimum-security prisoner; he was classified on two occasions as such, once in January this year and again in June. That classification was made on two occasions. Yes, there is a very, very rigorous process that is clearly not perfect and clearly people that worked through — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn and member for Girrawheen, I suggest you stop interjecting. Member for Cockburn, the minister is answering your questions. If you want to ask a supplementary question, get to your feet afterwards and ask him a supplementary question. I suggest to you and to the member for Girrawheen that you enable the minister to answer those questions. Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
(3) Mr Rowles is the second prisoner to escape from the Department of Corrective Services’ custody this week; what, as minister, is the Minister for Corrective Services doing about it? Mr D.T. REDMAN replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. (1)–(3) Yes, the member is quite right. A 51-year-old prisoner escaped from Royal Perth Hospital yesterday while under the supervision of a DCS officer, and I want to respond to the particular questions that were raised. The prisoner was a minimum-security prisoner; he was classified on two occasions as such, once in January this year and again in June. That classification was made on two occasions. Yes, there is a very, very rigorous process that is clearly not perfect and clearly people that worked through — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn and member for Girrawheen, I suggest you stop interjecting. Member for Cockburn, the minister is answering your questions. If you want to ask a supplementary question, get to your feet afterwards and ask him a supplementary question. I suggest to you and to the member for Girrawheen that you enable the minister to answer those questions. Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Mr D.T. REDMAN replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. (1)–(3) Yes, the member is quite right. A 51-year-old prisoner escaped from Royal Perth Hospital yesterday while under the supervision of a DCS officer, and I want to respond to the particular questions that were raised. The prisoner was a minimum-security prisoner; he was classified on two occasions as such, once in January this year and again in June. That classification was made on two occasions. Yes, there is a very, very rigorous process that is clearly not perfect and clearly people that worked through — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn and member for Girrawheen, I suggest you stop interjecting. Member for Cockburn, the minister is answering your questions. If you want to ask a supplementary question, get to your feet afterwards and ask him a supplementary question. I suggest to you and to the member for Girrawheen that you enable the minister to answer those questions. Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. (1)–(3) Yes, the member is quite right. A 51-year-old prisoner escaped from Royal Perth Hospital yesterday while under the supervision of a DCS officer, and I want to respond to the particular questions that were raised. The prisoner was a minimum-security prisoner; he was classified on two occasions as such, once in January this year and again in June. That classification was made on two occasions. Yes, there is a very, very rigorous process that is clearly not perfect and clearly people that worked through — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn and member for Girrawheen, I suggest you stop interjecting. Member for Cockburn, the minister is answering your questions. If you want to ask a supplementary question, get to your feet afterwards and ask him a supplementary question. I suggest to you and to the member for Girrawheen that you enable the minister to answer those questions. Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
(1)–(3) Yes, the member is quite right. A 51-year-old prisoner escaped from Royal Perth Hospital yesterday while under the supervision of a DCS officer, and I want to respond to the particular questions that were raised. The prisoner was a minimum-security prisoner; he was classified on two occasions as such, once in January this year and again in June. That classification was made on two occasions. Yes, there is a very, very rigorous process that is clearly not perfect and clearly people that worked through — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn and member for Girrawheen, I suggest you stop interjecting. Member for Cockburn, the minister is answering your questions. If you want to ask a supplementary question, get to your feet afterwards and ask him a supplementary question. I suggest to you and to the member for Girrawheen that you enable the minister to answer those questions. Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn and member for Girrawheen, I suggest you stop interjecting. Member for Cockburn, the minister is answering your questions. If you want to ask a supplementary question, get to your feet afterwards and ask him a supplementary question. I suggest to you and to the member for Girrawheen that you enable the minister to answer those questions. Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn and member for Girrawheen, I suggest you stop interjecting. Member for Cockburn, the minister is answering your questions. If you want to ask a supplementary question, get to your feet afterwards and ask him a supplementary question. I suggest to you and to the member for Girrawheen that you enable the minister to answer those questions. Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
(1) Why was Mr Rowles, a convicted armed robber of the same bank that was robbed yesterday, classified as a minimum-security prisoner and housed at Wooroloo Prison Farm? (2) Why did Mr Rowles attend hospital unrestrained, with only one officer escorting him? (3) Mr Rowles is the second prisoner to escape from the Department of Corrective Services’ custody this week; what, as minister, is the Minister for Corrective Services doing about it? Mr D.T. REDMAN replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. (1)–(3) Yes, the member is quite right. A 51-year-old prisoner escaped from Royal Perth Hospital yesterday while under the supervision of a DCS officer, and I want to respond to the particular questions that were raised. The prisoner was a minimum-security prisoner; he was classified on two occasions as such, once in January this year and again in June. That classification was made on two occasions. Yes, there is a very, very rigorous process that is clearly not perfect and clearly people that worked through — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn and member for Girrawheen, I suggest you stop interjecting. Member for Cockburn, the minister is answering your questions. If you want to ask a supplementary question, get to your feet afterwards and ask him a supplementary question. I suggest to you and to the member for Girrawheen that you enable the minister to answer those questions. Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
(2) Why did Mr Rowles attend hospital unrestrained, with only one officer escorting him? (3) Mr Rowles is the second prisoner to escape from the Department of Corrective Services’ custody this week; what, as minister, is the Minister for Corrective Services doing about it? Mr D.T. REDMAN replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. (1)–(3) Yes, the member is quite right. A 51-year-old prisoner escaped from Royal Perth Hospital yesterday while under the supervision of a DCS officer, and I want to respond to the particular questions that were raised. The prisoner was a minimum-security prisoner; he was classified on two occasions as such, once in January this year and again in June. That classification was made on two occasions. Yes, there is a very, very rigorous process that is clearly not perfect and clearly people that worked through — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn and member for Girrawheen, I suggest you stop interjecting. Member for Cockburn, the minister is answering your questions. If you want to ask a supplementary question, get to your feet afterwards and ask him a supplementary question. I suggest to you and to the member for Girrawheen that you enable the minister to answer those questions. Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
(3) Mr Rowles is the second prisoner to escape from the Department of Corrective Services’ custody this week; what, as minister, is the Minister for Corrective Services doing about it? Mr D.T. REDMAN replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. (1)–(3) Yes, the member is quite right. A 51-year-old prisoner escaped from Royal Perth Hospital yesterday while under the supervision of a DCS officer, and I want to respond to the particular questions that were raised. The prisoner was a minimum-security prisoner; he was classified on two occasions as such, once in January this year and again in June. That classification was made on two occasions. Yes, there is a very, very rigorous process that is clearly not perfect and clearly people that worked through — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn and member for Girrawheen, I suggest you stop interjecting. Member for Cockburn, the minister is answering your questions. If you want to ask a supplementary question, get to your feet afterwards and ask him a supplementary question. I suggest to you and to the member for Girrawheen that you enable the minister to answer those questions. Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Mr D.T. REDMAN replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. (1)–(3) Yes, the member is quite right. A 51-year-old prisoner escaped from Royal Perth Hospital yesterday while under the supervision of a DCS officer, and I want to respond to the particular questions that were raised. The prisoner was a minimum-security prisoner; he was classified on two occasions as such, once in January this year and again in June. That classification was made on two occasions. Yes, there is a very, very rigorous process that is clearly not perfect and clearly people that worked through — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn and member for Girrawheen, I suggest you stop interjecting. Member for Cockburn, the minister is answering your questions. If you want to ask a supplementary question, get to your feet afterwards and ask him a supplementary question. I suggest to you and to the member for Girrawheen that you enable the minister to answer those questions. Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. (1)–(3) Yes, the member is quite right. A 51-year-old prisoner escaped from Royal Perth Hospital yesterday while under the supervision of a DCS officer, and I want to respond to the particular questions that were raised. The prisoner was a minimum-security prisoner; he was classified on two occasions as such, once in January this year and again in June. That classification was made on two occasions. Yes, there is a very, very rigorous process that is clearly not perfect and clearly people that worked through — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn and member for Girrawheen, I suggest you stop interjecting. Member for Cockburn, the minister is answering your questions. If you want to ask a supplementary question, get to your feet afterwards and ask him a supplementary question. I suggest to you and to the member for Girrawheen that you enable the minister to answer those questions. Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
(1)–(3) Yes, the member is quite right. A 51-year-old prisoner escaped from Royal Perth Hospital yesterday while under the supervision of a DCS officer, and I want to respond to the particular questions that were raised. The prisoner was a minimum-security prisoner; he was classified on two occasions as such, once in January this year and again in June. That classification was made on two occasions. Yes, there is a very, very rigorous process that is clearly not perfect and clearly people that worked through — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn and member for Girrawheen, I suggest you stop interjecting. Member for Cockburn, the minister is answering your questions. If you want to ask a supplementary question, get to your feet afterwards and ask him a supplementary question. I suggest to you and to the member for Girrawheen that you enable the minister to answer those questions. Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn and member for Girrawheen, I suggest you stop interjecting. Member for Cockburn, the minister is answering your questions. If you want to ask a supplementary question, get to your feet afterwards and ask him a supplementary question. I suggest to you and to the member for Girrawheen that you enable the minister to answer those questions. Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn and member for Girrawheen, I suggest you stop interjecting. Member for Cockburn, the minister is answering your questions. If you want to ask a supplementary question, get to your feet afterwards and ask him a supplementary question. I suggest to you and to the member for Girrawheen that you enable the minister to answer those questions. Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Mr D.T. REDMAN : Someone had to work through and make some judgements about the behaviour of the prisoner and go through a heap of information about how the prisoner is likely to respond and so on. Through those two circumstances, he was classified as a minimum-security prisoner. Clearly, when he is caught, he will go back in as a maximum-security prisoner, as I understand it. That is an appropriate response. On the question of whether the prisoner was restrained or unrestrained, as I understand it, he was unrestrained when he came out of the hospital, after he had received the medical treatment he had gone in for. He was accompanied by one Department of Corrective Services officer. It is not unusual for there to be only one Department of Corrective Services officer for a minimum-security prisoner under these circumstances. I want to put a couple of things in context, although this does not underplay the issue and the seriousness of an escape; we absolutely do not want that to happen and I absolutely take that very seriously. As minister, I absolutely take responsibility for the safety of the community in respect of prisoners in Department of Corrective Services prisons. Over the 12 months to July this year, more than 32 000 prison transfers happened in this state without any escapes. There were 3 810 external medical appointments without any escapes. There were 396 funerals attended by prisoners without any escapes. This matter is of concern to me, but it is in the context of a very, very good record of the Liberal–National government’s term in office. I highlight that point. What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
What am I doing about it? Since I was made aware of it yesterday, my office has been in close contact with the Department of Corrective Services to gain an understanding of the issues. I spoke with the commissioner this morning and I have asked the commissioner to ensure that we put all the rulers over exactly what happened to understand whether, in fact, the procedures and processes that are in place to do with these issues were appropriately carried out by trained staff. Secondly, if that is the case, and there is a systemic issue around the rules we have, those issues will have to be looked at. I expect that I will have a report into that, and I expect that I will have to make judgements about whether there will be actions that come from it. Right now we are waiting to get all that information. I believe we have had a good record during our term; certainly compared with the opposition during its term, and I am happy to quote numbers, if the member for Cockburn is going to ask that question. Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Mr F.M. Logan : You had 10 escapes last year! What are you talking about? You’ve had two this week! You didn’t even know about it! Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order twice: for a first and second time. Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Mr D.T. REDMAN : I think Einstein summed it up, and he is clearly right, when he said that great spirits encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
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