Guardian Australia has this week revealed an investigative sequence revealing the surprising demise toll from inaction on recognized hanging factors in Australian prisons.
The investigation discovered that 57 deaths have occurred utilizing ligature factors that had been recognized to authorities however not eliminated, typically regardless of stark warnings in regards to the risks they posed.
In a single case, the identical hanging level was utilized in a Queensland jail in 10 hanging deaths throughout virtually twenty years, regardless of repeated requires it to be addressed.
Every state was requested why the hanging factors weren’t eliminated and what it was doing to make prisons secure.
Listed here are the responses in full:
Queensland Corrective Providers
Queensland Corrective Providers takes the protection and wellbeing of prisoners in custody very significantly and all deaths in custody are topic to police investigation and Coronial inquest.
A number of protecting measures are in place to stop prisoners from harming themselves, together with complete suicide threat evaluation and administration plans which inform the place prisoners are accommodated.
All frontline QCS officers undertake necessary coaching in suicide prevention and QCS’ Psychological Well being Technique 2022-2027 is figuring out individuals in custody or supervision with psychological unwell well being and assessing them early, to supply them with the helps and providers wanted together with needed supervision, monitoring and entry to medical, psychologist, and different related helps.
As well as, QCS is at all times working to make sure the infrastructure in every correctional facility minimises dangers for self-harm or suicide.
In Queensland, 92.9% of all safe cells have a safer cell design and prisoners recognized as being vulnerable to self-harm are positioned in essentially the most acceptable lodging to maintain them secure. This equates to 7,550 (95.7%) constructed beds inside safe safer cells.
When the brand new Lockyer Valley Correctional Centre comes on-line, 93.5% of Queensland safe cells can be safer cell design compliant. It will equate to 96.2% constructed beds inside safe safer cells.
Corrective Providers New South Wales
Corrective Providers NSW is dedicated to lowering all preventable deaths in custody and regularly seeks to enhance the design and security of correctional centres.
The NSW Authorities has invested $16 million to make our prisons safer by eradicating ligature factors.
It will proceed the in depth work that has already been undertaken throughout a number of amenities as a part of our coordinated statewide infrastructure program to refurbish cells and take away apparent ligature factors or cell furnishings that would pose a self-harm threat. This has included the removing of ligature factors from virtually 800 cells, in addition to changing cell doorways, grills, beds, basins and tapware. An extra 145 cells are anticipated to be accomplished by July 2025.
Along with ligature removing and refurbishments, Corrective Providers NSW has well-established insurance policies and procedures for the care and administration of inmates recognized as being vulnerable to self-harm or suicide.
Western Australia’s Division of Justice
The Division of Justice has been endeavor a complete program of ligature minimisation within the State’s prisons since 2005, noting that it’s not potential to attain the entire elimination of all ligature factors.
This system to extend the variety of absolutely ligature-minimised cells throughout the custodial property is ongoing, with precedence given to amenities with the best threat and wish.
This work can be complemented by suicide prevention packages and threat minimisation methods.
The Division is increasing the vary of providers supplied to fulfill the wants of an elevated prisoner inhabitants, together with these with complicated psychological well being points.
This consists of the Casuarina Jail Stage 2 Growth Mission which can ship important new infrastructure to fulfill future calls for of high-needs or at-risk prisoners and can home 36 particular objective beds in a Psychological Well being Assist Unit with devoted therapeutic lodging for prisoners with psychiatric situations.
The Division additionally established the Medical Workforce Committee to develop methods to retain specialist well being and psychological well being workers in Corrective providers.
The Division is repeatedly strengthening protocols for managing suggestions made by oversight our bodies, together with the Coroners Courtroom of Western Australia.
The Division is dedicated to addressing all supported Coronial suggestions and considers all suggestions on a case-by-case foundation.
If there are sensible limitations to implementing proposed suggestions, the Division works with the Coroners Courtroom to develop various methods to attain sensible outcomes that handle the intent of the unique advice.
South Australia’s Division for Correctional Providers
Each demise in custody is a tragedy for the individual’s household, pals and neighborhood. Additionally it is extraordinarily distressing for DCS workers and first responders.
DCS recognises the significance of lowering dangers related to prisoner self-harm and suicide and is dedicated to enhancing secure lodging in any respect websites.
The Division has acted on Coronial suggestions to take away hanging factors and during the last decade has invested about $200 million in new infrastructure and upgrades to current infrastructure to make sure secure cell design in prisons throughout the state.
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New builds on the Adelaide Girls’s Jail and Yatala Labour Jail that are presently underway additionally adhere to the secure cell commonplace.
Upgrades to growing older infrastructure and cells at numerous websites proceed to be undertaken.
A spread of packages have additionally been applied to establish these prisoners who’re at most threat, which incorporates focused culturally acceptable providers for Aboriginal prisoners.
Tasmania Jail Service
The Tasmania Jail Service (TPS) has adopted a risk-based method which has resulted within the removing of many hanging factors throughout prisons.
All new builds within the TPS adjust to jail infrastructure requirements and are constructed to make sure no hanging factors exist.
All cells for managing maximum-security prisoners and people thought-about to be vulnerable to SASH are constructed to make sure that no hanging factors exist.
The TPS takes an individualised method to SASH threat and the protection of prisoners vulnerable to SASH is pushed by structured skilled judgment incorporating particular person assessments, which takes into consideration evidence-based follow, analysis, and a private evaluation of the person from a multi-disciplinary method.
Prisoners who’re thought-about vulnerable to SASH following evaluation are housed in items of the jail the place the chance of self-harm is mitigated by way of numerous measures together with selections to restrict a prisoner’s actions or restrict their entry to clothes gadgets, footwear, cutlery, linen or different gadgets which may be used to trigger hurt.
This method is in keeping with numerous human rights ideas together with treating every prisoner as a person, minimising variations between jail life and liberty and never assuming that each one prisoners are vulnerable to SASH.
Prisoners vulnerable to SASH are supplied psychological well being helps and common interventions.
Victoria’s Division of Justice and Group Security
We all know that folks coming into custody can have complicated psychological well being points. We take these dangers very significantly and guarantee prisoners are supplied with the help they want and are housed in acceptable lodging.
We’ve robust measures in place to scale back self-harm and suicide, together with specialist psychological well being providers and clinicians on-site in prisons. Workers are additionally educated to establish at-risk individuals and make referrals.
The Victorian Authorities continues to put money into fashionable jail amenities to enhance the rehabilitation and security of individuals in custody, resembling the brand new Western Plains Correctional Centre opening in July.
Australian Capital Territory Corrective Providers
The ACT Authorities is dedicated to steady enchancment to minimise hurt in our correctional amenities. ACT Corrective Providers has rigorous processes in place to make sure it maintains the best requirements of take care of all individuals in custody.
The Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC) has a Services Administration crew, which consists of extremely skilled commerce professionals who’re well-versed in working with Custodial Operations to establish and handle apparent ligature dangers as a part of routine upkeep and restore actions. The place ligature dangers are recognized, additional assessments are carried out to find out remedial motion required to suitably handle the chance. Work required is predominantly managed by this crew and often funded by way of current operational expenditure allocations. It’s subsequently tough to find out how a lot has been spent on ligature level prevention and remediation. Nonetheless, the place ligature dangers have been addressed as a part of an outlined mission, the related prices/funding are included beneath.
ACT Corrective Providers had been supplied separate reviews by the ACT Coroners Courtroom and ACT Inspector for Custodial Providers into Mr Wealthy’s demise. These reviews supplied necessary insights to assist forestall dangerous and tragic outcomes from being repeated. Vital work has been undertaken to deal with the dangers recognized within the reviews, together with:
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upgrades to the Administration Unit’s rear cell doorways, which had been accomplished in Could-June 2022 and price roughly $3,500-$4,500.
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the commissioning of an additional evaluate into the Administration Unit’s rear cell doorways, which is presently underway. As outlined within the ACT Authorities’s Response to the Coroner’s report, ACTCS is dedicated to publishing the findings to the best extent potential as soon as the evaluate is full.
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launch of an up to date Intervention Hoffman Knife Working Process, which turned efficient in November 2023 and states Hoffman knives at the moment are personally issued to correctional officers.
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growth of an ACT Corrective Providers Suicide Prevention Framework, which was launched in April 2025 and guides how ACT Corrective Providers workers work with purchasers, each within the custodial and neighborhood correctional environments, to scale back suicide and suicidal behaviours,
Different work to scale back cell ligature factors that has been carried out or is being deliberate consists of, however isn’t restricted to:
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upgrades to cell furnishings within the Administration Unit, with $3,270 spent to restore recognized ligature level dangers.
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upgrades to cell furnishings throughout numerous lodging items, together with to scale back potential ligature dangers. This work is scheduled to be accomplished by Could 2026, with a complete estimated mission value of $174,440.
Northern Territory Division of Corrections
Following suggestions from the NT Coroner in 2017, works to mitigate the chance of comparable incidents by eradicating the ceiling followers [at Darwin Correctional Centre] was accomplished in September 2020.
