❓ Mr L'Estrange questions the Minister for Corrective Services about the lack of blanket CCTV coverage in WA prisons due to budgetary constraints. The Minister responds, citing the significant cost and prioritisation of CCTV in critical areas.
AnsweredQoN 76Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PRISONS — CCTV
COVERAGE
76. Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE to the Minister for
Corrective Services:
I refer to an article published in The
West Australian of 11 February in which the Commissioner of Corrective
Services is quoted as saying that it was ''virtually impossible''
to ensure blanket CCTV coverage inside prisons due to budgetary constraints.
Why is the minister refusing to provide the necessary funding to ensure proper
CCTV coverage in Western Australian prisons?
COVERAGE
76. Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE to the Minister for
Corrective Services:
I refer to an article published in The
West Australian of 11 February in which the Commissioner of Corrective
Services is quoted as saying that it was ''virtually impossible''
to ensure blanket CCTV coverage inside prisons due to budgetary constraints.
Why is the minister refusing to provide the necessary funding to ensure proper
CCTV coverage in Western Australian prisons?
AnswerView source ↗
I
thank the member for that question. I note that reference was made by the
commissioner during the Corruption and Crime
Commission's open hearings just recently into the recommendations that
it made to make a series of changes , which have virtually all been done,
within the Department of Justice. If the member were to continue to read
exactly what the commissioner said, he would see that he talked about exactly
the cost involved in putting CCTV across the 17 prisons that we have in Western
Australia, which is a significant amount of money. It would run into hundreds
of millions of dollars. That is the reason why CCTV is in critical parts of our
prison system and does a great job, particularly in those areas that are
vulnerable for the purposes of bringing contraband or drugs into the prison
system. For example, the visitors centre is always covered by CCTV, as well as
physically covered by prison officers and other security arrangements that I will
not go into. Wide and expansive CCTV coverage across all of our 17 prisons
would cost a massive amount of money, and that is acknowledged by the
commissioner himself. We will certainly be rolling out things like body-worn
cameras for prison officers as and when we can budget for that. That is another
critical part of the security and fair treatment of prisoners within our prison
system. But CCTV and its use will always be put up by the department for
budgetary approval as and when it is needed.
thank the member for that question. I note that reference was made by the
commissioner during the Corruption and Crime
Commission's open hearings just recently into the recommendations that
it made to make a series of changes , which have virtually all been done,
within the Department of Justice. If the member were to continue to read
exactly what the commissioner said, he would see that he talked about exactly
the cost involved in putting CCTV across the 17 prisons that we have in Western
Australia, which is a significant amount of money. It would run into hundreds
of millions of dollars. That is the reason why CCTV is in critical parts of our
prison system and does a great job, particularly in those areas that are
vulnerable for the purposes of bringing contraband or drugs into the prison
system. For example, the visitors centre is always covered by CCTV, as well as
physically covered by prison officers and other security arrangements that I will
not go into. Wide and expansive CCTV coverage across all of our 17 prisons
would cost a massive amount of money, and that is acknowledged by the
commissioner himself. We will certainly be rolling out things like body-worn
cameras for prison officers as and when we can budget for that. That is another
critical part of the security and fair treatment of prisoners within our prison
system. But CCTV and its use will always be put up by the department for
budgetary approval as and when it is needed.
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