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 prison system. This was further compounded by staff shortages. Since that time the daily average population has increased by approximately 10 per cent from 6,873 to 7,581, staff shortages have continued to be a challenge, and the effect both of these problems have had on social visits remains considerably pronounced.
Since our last review, we have also found in-person social and family visits have been severely impacted by departmental responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the height of the pandemic, visit capacities were reduced to allow for space restrictions and other measures were implemented, such as the installation of acrylic screens and the banning of food and drinks. Many of these measures, while seeking to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, diminished the visits experience for prisoners and their family and friends. Furthermore, post-pandemic, we have continued to find some of these measures remain in practice at various prisons.
The pandemic compelled the Department to fast-track the installation of e-visit technology to ensure contact with friends, families, and official visitors could be maintained. While they should not replace in-person visits, e-visits can supplement social contact and can also help provide people in custody with a connection to friends and family who are a considerable distance away. This has been a positive, and largely successful investment by the Department. However, issues including a lack of staffing to facilitate and supervise e-visits and technological issues have been found to be ongoing concerns.
Challenges also exist for those whose primary contact with family and friends occurs through the phone system. While it is the most frequent form of contact, our inspection work continues to find unequal access and competition for phones are ongoing issues. For example, in 2022 we recommended the Department increase the number of phones at Greenough Regional Prison to mitigate the high demand. In response, the Department outlined a business case to replace the Prisoner Telephone System as part of its Long-term Custodial Technology Strategy. To date, the replacement has not occurred.
This is a follow-up review assessing progressing by the Department to our 2018 review. There is only one Term of Reference:
- Has the Department of Justice made adequate progress since the 2018 review to ensure prisoners are maintaining contact with their family and others.
