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 regime.
We found a prison struggling on multiple levels, with the lack of long-term planning by the Department of Justice significantly contributing to the crisis. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the prisoner population had steadily increased, without any corresponding increase in infrastructure and services. Much of the prison’s aging 1980s living units were unfit for purpose, something we have repeatedly raised throughout several reports. In the weeks following our inspection, the population increased, leading to three units accommodating men on mattresses on the floor of cells.
Hakea is, for most adult males remanded or sentenced into custody, the first facility where they will start their custodial journey. Prioritising investment in infrastructure and services to prisoners at the earliest opportunity would have a significant impact on the wider adult male custodial estate.