- WA’s prison population has expanded rapidly
- ‘Design capacity’ is the most accurate measure of prison capacity
- Our prisons are above or at ‘capacity’ depending on the measure used
- on 30 June 2016 the WA prison system was at 148 per cent of ‘design capacity’
- on 30 June 2016 the WA prison system was at 97 per cent of ‘modified capacity’, a measure similar to the Department of Corrective Services (DCS)reporting practices
- in practice, many of the ‘spare’ beds are not usable
- the lack of ‘buffer capacity’ makes it harder to manage prisons
- Only 32 per cent of WA prisoners can be held in compliance with the 1990 Australasian Standard Guidelines for cell sizes
- most WA prisoners are held in cells that do not meet Australasian Standard Guidelines
- many older cells fail to meet International Committee for the Red Cross standards for even single occupancy, despite being routinely double-bunked
- much newer custodial accommodation also fails to meet Australasian Standard Guidelines 1990 for cell sizes
- continued installation of double-bunks exacerbates non-compliance with Australasian Standard Guidelines 1990
- Double-bunking is contrary to UN standards, and its risks are not being sufficiently addressed
- the Mandela Rules strongly affirm the use of single prisoner cells
- cell sharing results in a loss of human dignity
- cell sharing impacts on the ability to prepare for court and on rehabilitation
- sharing cells increases risks for prisoners
- DCS is not sufficiently mitigating the risks of cell sharing
- Prison services become compromised by crowding, and crowding increases the risk of losing control
- DCS’ method of reporting has hidden the extent of the problem