Background
Since our 2021 inspection, regular liaison visits and monitoring of Hakea and the wider custodial estate alerted us to several areas of increasing concern: a rising prisoner population, chronic overcrowding, increased deaths in custody, higher rates of self-harm and suicidal behaviour, insufficient staffing, escalating tensions between prison staff and management, and a restricted daily prisoner …
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Key findings
A lack of direction for a prison in crisis Hakea Prison (Hakea) was in crisis, struggling to meet the needs of a growing adult male prison population. The Department of Justice’s (the Department) failure to provide long-term estate wide planning significantly contributed to the challenges faced by Hakea. Between January 2022 and May 2024, prisoner …
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Conclusion
Our eighth inspection of Hakea Prison found a facility in crisis, driven by a significant rise in prisoner numbers since the last inspection with limited increases to services, staffing, and resources. Conditions for prisoners had deteriorated to unacceptable levels, with many unable to access basic essential services, clean clothing, or the minimum time out of …
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Recommendations
Recommendation 1 Create a cross-government taskforce to address the systemic problems across the justice system. Recommendation 2 Finalise the system-wide staffing review and allocate sufficient staffing levels to Hakea that align with its purpose and prisoner population. Recommendation 3 Consider amending the Prison Officer’s Industrial Agreement 2022 to allow Vocational Support Officers (VSOs) to retain …
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