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 lack of progress in this area over many years has been to the detriment of health and wellbeing outcomes for people in custody. Evidence presented throughout this report suggests they can be worse off during a placement in a CCU, and this is likely leading to deteriorating health outcomes. Ideally, placement in crisis care should promote wellbeing, allowing prisoners who need it the opportunity to get well in a safe and therapeutic environment.