A parliamentary question was raised regarding a firearm security breach by the Special Operations Group at Hakea Prison. The Minister's response indicates one breach occurred in July 2018, with subsequent procedural reinforcements and disciplinary action.

AnsweredQoN 924Legislative Council
Asked
22 August 2019
Portfolio
Corrective Services

QuestionView source ↗

FIREARMS — SPECIAL OPERATIONS GROUP
924. Hon ALISON XAMON to the minister representing the
Minister for Corrective Services:
I refer to The Sunday Times article of 18 August 2019 about a special operations group assault rifle left
in a vehicle outside Hakea Prison for a weekend.
(1) How many breaches of firearm
security by the special operations group occurred in —
(a) 2017–18, and in which
months; and
(b) 2018–19, and in which
months?
(2) What steps
were taken by the department to address the circumstances of those breaches and
to prevent future breaches by the special operations group?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) (a) Nil.
(b) There was one
breach, in July 2018. This is an isolated incident. There have been no security
incidents involving firearms for over 20 years. No rounds or magazines were
transported with this firearm.
(2) Following an
immediate review, procedures regarding the storage, issue and transfer of
firearms were reinforced. The officer responsible for the oversight was
counselled and issued with a formal written warning. The matter was referred to
Corrective Services' investigation services branch.

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