❓ Mr L'Estrange questions the Minister for Corrective Services about the disparity in the increase of sexual assault offenders managed in the community versus those detained in prison. The Minister deflects, highlighting portfolio turnover and overall population increases.
AnsweredQoN 624Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORRECTIVE SERVICES —
SEXUAL ASSAULT OFFENDERS
624. Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE to the Minister for
Corrective Services:
In the last 12 months, the number of
sexual assault offenders being managed in the community rose by 43 per cent,
while the number who were being detained in prison rose by three per cent. Can
the minister please explain to the house the reason for this significant
difference?
SEXUAL ASSAULT OFFENDERS
624. Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE to the Minister for
Corrective Services:
In the last 12 months, the number of
sexual assault offenders being managed in the community rose by 43 per cent,
while the number who were being detained in prison rose by three per cent. Can
the minister please explain to the house the reason for this significant
difference?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Churchlands
for the question and I welcome him to the portfolio. He is the third incumbent
to this portfolio in two and a half years. It is interesting that each
incumbent—whether it was the member for Hillarys, the member for Dawesville and, of course, now the member for
Churchlands, because he put out that recent press release—has
called for my termination. They have all called for me to be terminated. They
are consistent in their message, but no sooner do they get the message out,
then they disappear from the portfolio. Those figures are simply categories
that we have identified of the numbers from 2017 to 2019. It is only a percentage.
If the member looks at the actual prison numbers, the article that he has
referred to and the investigation by—because I released those figures,
if the member remembers.
Mr S.K. L'Estrange :
No, they are statistics. There is no article.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : Hang on! The
member for Dawesville asked me during estimates if we were going to produce
those quarterly figures for the Department of Corrective Services. That is what
the member for Dawesville asked me. I said that yes, we would do that. That is
what we did. We complied with that request from the member for Dawesville. We
have released those figures and, as a percentage overall, it is not significant
because the number of people coming into the prison system has increased
significantly. The number of people being dealt with by community corrections
is significant as well. It is just the increase in the overall population being
dealt with by the Department of Justice. The figures for the prison population
itself are at record levels. Earlier last year, it got to record levels. Whilst
the member might draw attention to the fact that prison numbers themselves have
increased only marginally, we are still at a record number. The number of
people in community corrections has increased significantly, and community
correction orders and dangerous sexual offender orders have also increased, but
those decisions are made by magistrates and judges.
for the question and I welcome him to the portfolio. He is the third incumbent
to this portfolio in two and a half years. It is interesting that each
incumbent—whether it was the member for Hillarys, the member for Dawesville and, of course, now the member for
Churchlands, because he put out that recent press release—has
called for my termination. They have all called for me to be terminated. They
are consistent in their message, but no sooner do they get the message out,
then they disappear from the portfolio. Those figures are simply categories
that we have identified of the numbers from 2017 to 2019. It is only a percentage.
If the member looks at the actual prison numbers, the article that he has
referred to and the investigation by—because I released those figures,
if the member remembers.
Mr S.K. L'Estrange :
No, they are statistics. There is no article.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : Hang on! The
member for Dawesville asked me during estimates if we were going to produce
those quarterly figures for the Department of Corrective Services. That is what
the member for Dawesville asked me. I said that yes, we would do that. That is
what we did. We complied with that request from the member for Dawesville. We
have released those figures and, as a percentage overall, it is not significant
because the number of people coming into the prison system has increased
significantly. The number of people being dealt with by community corrections
is significant as well. It is just the increase in the overall population being
dealt with by the Department of Justice. The figures for the prison population
itself are at record levels. Earlier last year, it got to record levels. Whilst
the member might draw attention to the fact that prison numbers themselves have
increased only marginally, we are still at a record number. The number of
people in community corrections has increased significantly, and community
correction orders and dangerous sexual offender orders have also increased, but
those decisions are made by magistrates and judges.
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