Broome Regional Prison, Western Australia’s oldest operational prison, is scheduled for its ninth inspection by the Office in May 2025. Originally commissioned in 1945, the prison includes three accommodation blocks and administrative buildings centred around the ‘Bull Pen,’ a secure shed built in 1895. Broome is a mixed-gender, minimum-security facility but also accommodates remand and …
Many women are received into custody experiencing a range of chronic health issues, including substance withdrawal, undiagnosed health conditions or untreated mental health conditions (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2023). And it is recognised that incarcerated women have increased incidence of health conditions (DOJ, 2022; OICS, 2024; OICS, 2021). A number of these women …
People in custody experiencing acute distress should have access to appropriate crisis care. Mental health disorders affect a significant proportion of the Australian community. It is estimated that approximately 44 per cent of Australians have experienced some form of mental illness within their lifetime (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2022). Consequently, this trend translates …
The Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services has announced an inspection of work camps across Western Australia. External activities – including employment and resocialisation – are an important element in a prisoner’s rehabilitation and reintegration journey. Work camps provide adult male prisoners an opportunity to participate in meaningful work in a community environment. These …
Contact with and connection to family and friends are key factors to maintaining the wellbeing of people in custody and their rehabilitation prospects. In this Office’s 2018 review examining this contact, we found the Department of Justice was struggling to meet its legislative and policy requirements for family and social visits, due to overcrowding within …
The Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services has released its Annual Report 2023-24. It reflects the challenging year faced by prisons and youth detention in Western Australia over the past 12 months. Inspector Eamon Ryan said: In 2023-24, our reports and monitoring activities have highlighted consistent findings that the custodial system has struggled to …
People in custody should be provided the opportunity to address their primary health, mental health, and social care needs through access to appropriate services. They must also be supported to change their behaviours and attitudes through tailored programs and services which address their needs and support desistence. These services and supports are delivered by non-custodial …
The Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services (WA) has joined other members of the Australian National Preventive Network (NPM) in a joint statement on the reintroduction of spit hoods for children in the Northern Territory. The statement calls on the NT Government to listen to informed local NT voices, and for all Australian governments to …
The Office was pleased to contribute and be signatory to the Australian National Preventive Mechanism’s (NPM) submission to the Senate inquiry examining the country’s youth justice and incarceration system. The Submission makes six recommendations to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee and urges careful consideration of the findings and recommendation made by the National …
Today the Office commenced its announced inspection of Acacia Prison. It’s our first inspection of Acacia since the February 2022 riot. We will be onsite looking at innovation and recovery since that time using our Revised Code of Inspection Standards for Adult Custodial Services. You can read the Revised Standards here. Click here to read …
