ABS figures suggest WA prison overcrowding set to get worse

The WA Prison Officers’ Union has warned the overcrowding in WA’s prisons is going to get worse, after the Australian Bureau of Statistics released figures which show WA has the second highest imprisonment rate in the country.

The ABS figures for the December 2014 quarter show WA’s average daily imprisonment rate was 271 prisoners per 100,000 adult population.

The figures also show that WA was locking up Aboriginal people at a faster rate than any other state or territory, with the average imprisonment rate at 3,748 prisoners per 100,000 adult Aboriginal people.

“WA’s prisons are already bursting at the seams, and if these trends continue, things are only going to get worse,” said WAPOU Secretary John Welch.

“The State Government is pursuing its ‘tough on crime’ agenda, but it has not adequately catered for the outcome of that agenda, which is higher prisoner numbers.

“New legislation like its changes to the Criminal Law Amendment Act will result in even more prisoners, when the prison population has already been increasing by about 300 a year.”

Mr Welch said the government was trying to deal with the increase by forcing two prisoners to share cells built for one person.

“The Economic Regulation Authority recently visited Bandyup women’s prison where its staff witnessed female prisoners sleeping on mattresses on the floor, with their heads next to a toilet bowl,” he said.

“When prisoners are forced to live in these third world conditions, they become volatile and often lash out at prison staff.

“We are very concerned about the safety of our members who are working in prisons that are overcrowded and understaffed every day.”