Contact with family and friends while in custody

People in custody in Western Australia have important rights to social contact prescribed in legislation. Social contact improves the likelihood prisoners will successfully reintegrate back into the community upon their release because family and friends help with finding accommodation and employment, they offer financial support and they are critical to re-establishing community ties. Contact for …

The Department of Justice is facilitating prisoners’ contact with family and friends but population pressures and inefficient processes are making it increasingly difficult to meet legislative requirements. Overcrowding across the estate is affecting access to phones and the ability to provide visits for all prisoners. Competition for phones can result in tensions among prisoners, with …

Telephone use is high but access is not equal An estimated four million phone calls are made by people in custody in Western Australia each year, with up to two-thirds of the prison population accessing the phones each day. Despite this, prisoners’ access to phones is not equal, and is dependent on their location, security …

Recommendations Recommendation 1 – Consider the use of wireless technology where adding land lines is cost prohibitive Recommendation 2 – Increase the remand allowance to reflect the increased costs associated with calling mobile phones Recommendation 3 – Review and update the remote allowance to reflect actual STD and international call costs Recommendation 4 – Provide …