People in custody requiring crisis care

The increasing rate of mental illness and the lack of therapeutic spaces for people who are at risk of self-harm and suicide are key concerns affecting custodial environments. It has consistently been recognised that those in custody experience increased rates of mental illness (Baksheev et al., 2010; Samele et al., 2021; Adams & Ferrandino, 2008). …

Crisis care units are under pressure to meet demand Crisis care units (CCU) across Western Australian prisons are under significant pressure to meet increasing demand. This is due to a variety of factors including outdated infrastructure, population increases, and a growing number of people in custody who are at risk of suicide and self-harm. This …

Crisis care units across Western Australian prisons are in need of considerable investment to keep pace with the rapidly increasing prison population and increasingly complex prisoner cohort. Underpinning this investment, should be an appropriate governance framework establishing a strategic vision that sets the role and purpose of crisis care units along therapeutic design principles. The …

Recommendation 1 Review existing crisis care units against best practice therapeutic design and principles. Recommendation 2 Conduct a needs analysis to determine existing and future mental health demand. Recommendation 3 Develop and publish a policy outlining the Department of Justice’s definition of crisis care as well as its intended vision and purpose. Recommendation 4 Review …