❓ Hon Nick Goiran questions the Minister for Police regarding the naming of individuals subject to return to prison warrants, specifically referencing Barrie John Watts and seeking an apology for previous omissions. The Minister defends the decision not to name all offenders due to operational reasons.
AnsweredQoN 1259Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
Police—Return to prison warrants1259.Hon Nick Goiranto
theminister representing the Minister for Police:I refer to the
minister's answer on 2 December 2025 to my question without notice 1147, which
justified the naming of Barrie John Watts as the subject of a return to prison
warrant on the basis that his name was published byThe West Australiannewspaper on 7 September
2024.(1) Will the minister apologise for not providing
this information to the house on 16 October 2024 when responding to my question
without notice 1217?(2) Will the minister apologise for not providing
this information to the house on 13 November 2024 when responding to my
question without notice 1477?(3) Will the minister apologise for not providing
this information to the house on 1 May 2025 when responding to my question
without notice 114?(4) Will the minister now end this fugitive farce
once and for all and name all offenders subject to a return to prison warrant?(5) If no to (1), (2), (3) or (4), why not?
theminister representing the Minister for Police:I refer to the
minister's answer on 2 December 2025 to my question without notice 1147, which
justified the naming of Barrie John Watts as the subject of a return to prison
warrant on the basis that his name was published byThe West Australiannewspaper on 7 September
2024.(1) Will the minister apologise for not providing
this information to the house on 16 October 2024 when responding to my question
without notice 1217?(2) Will the minister apologise for not providing
this information to the house on 13 November 2024 when responding to my
question without notice 1477?(3) Will the minister apologise for not providing
this information to the house on 1 May 2025 when responding to my question
without notice 114?(4) Will the minister now end this fugitive farce
once and for all and name all offenders subject to a return to prison warrant?(5) If no to (1), (2), (3) or (4), why not?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
10 December 2025
Response time
0 days
Hon Matthew Swinbourn replied:I thank the member
for some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided by the
Minister for Police.(1)–(3) No.(4)–(5) There are important operational
reasons for not naming all offenders subject to return to prison warrants.
Names of offenders provided to Crime Stoppers Western Australia by police are
the long-term outstanding return to prison warrants (RTPs) for which police are
seeking information from the public as to their whereabouts. Names not listed
with Crime Stoppers WA include those offenders whose locations are known to
police but, for operational reasons, are unable to be returned to Western
Australia—for example, they are serving a term of imprisonment in
another jurisdiction—and those offenders who are recently allocated
RTPs who are subject to current investigations and disclosure could undermine
those investigations.
Police—Return to prison warrants
for some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided by the
Minister for Police.(1)–(3) No.(4)–(5) There are important operational
reasons for not naming all offenders subject to return to prison warrants.
Names of offenders provided to Crime Stoppers Western Australia by police are
the long-term outstanding return to prison warrants (RTPs) for which police are
seeking information from the public as to their whereabouts. Names not listed
with Crime Stoppers WA include those offenders whose locations are known to
police but, for operational reasons, are unable to be returned to Western
Australia—for example, they are serving a term of imprisonment in
another jurisdiction—and those offenders who are recently allocated
RTPs who are subject to current investigations and disclosure could undermine
those investigations.
Police—Return to prison warrants
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