As a minimum-security prison, Wooroloo had set itself a vision to be Australia’s leading re-entry prison providing innovative and sustainable rehabilitation, improved community safety, and setting aspirational standards for all. We saw many positives during our inspection supporting this goal, including strong and stable leadership, a functional and positive health team and a constructive day that allowed prisoners a greater freedom of movements for most parts of the day.
Addressing the rehabilitation needs of prisoners requires a combination of education, training and employment opportunities, that are supported by a range of programs aimed at reducing the drivers of offending behaviour. If Wooroloo and the Department are to meet the goals they have set themselves then they must offer a comprehensive range of all these activities.
Our report identified opportunities for improvement in the therapeutic and voluntary programs available for prisoners. We also heard that delays in the approval processes for external activities at Wooroloo were causing an impact. These were important in developing prisoners’ skills and capacity for post-prison life in ways that maximises the potential for them to break the cycle of recidivism.