Introduction
This audit assessed whether there are effective strategies in place to minimise drugs and alcohol in Western Australian (WA) prisons.
We focused on the Department of Justice (the Department), specifically the Corrective Services branch, and its efforts in adult prisons. We looked at the approaches to reduce drugs and alcohol from entering prisons, and the efforts to help prisoners with addictions. We sought feedback from a range of stakeholders involved in managing WA’s prisons and prisoners.
Background
Drug and alcohol use in prisons pose risks to the health and safety of staff and prisoners. Their use contributes to violent and disruptive behaviour, bullying and intimidation among the prison population, and the spread of blood borne viruses. Failure to address drug and alcohol addictions can lead to reoffending.
The prison population has risen sharply in the past 3 years, increasing from 5,242 in July 2014 to 6,309 in December 2016. In 2016, the Inspector of Custodial Services found that most of WA’s prisons are crowded, and that services to prisoners are increasingly stretched[1].
In 2016, 13%[2] of offenders in WA prisons were imprisoned for illicit drug offences and 67% reported using drugs in the 12 months before imprisonment[3]. Other crimes such as assaults, thefts or burglaries are sometimes committed to feed drug and alcohol addictions.
The Department faces a difficult task in reducing drug and alcohol use amongst a rising prison population. The Department manages WA’s 17 adult prisons (Appendix 1). At the time of our audit there were more than 6,000 adult prisoners. In 2015-16 the Department had a total budget of $906 million and more than 4,000 administration and prison staff.
In 2010, the Department released its Offender Drug and Alcohol Strategy 2010-2014, and the Drug and Alcohol Agency Action Plan 2010-2014. The Strategy proposed a 3-part supply, demand and harm reduction approach, in line with interstate and international practice. The action plan outlined the specific approaches the Department intended to take, such as gender specific health promotion and a range of therapeutic programs.
To reduce the supply of drugs, the Department uses a range of practices and security devices. These rely heavily on staff and include searches, electronic barriers, drug detection dogs, drug testing, and security controls for medications.
Prisons are supported by a centrally coordinated network of intelligence staff. They work closely with prison security teams to reduce the amount of drugs and alcohol by identifying people and areas of interest, and patterns in trafficking and drug use.
Since 2005 the Department has estimated the level of drug and alcohol use in prisons using its random Drug Prevalence Testing (DPT) program. All prisons are required to participate and testing is held 3 to 4 times each year.
The Department provides treatment programs for sentenced prisoners to reduce the demand for and harm from drug and alcohol addiction and linked criminal behaviour. The Pathways addiction therapy course, is available to prisoners assessed as having a medium-to-high risk of drug related criminal behaviour. The Department provides a clinical drug replacement program for opiate addicts, to reduce and control the harm of physical withdrawal. It also runs a mandatory education program to educate prisoners on the dangers of blood borne viruses.
Prisoners who use or possess drugs and alcohol while in prison can be charged under the Prisons Act 1981. This can lead to a loss of privileges and result in closer supervision. Good behaviour can see prisoners rewarded with privileges, including greater access to work and possible self-care accommodation.
The Department collects a large amount of information on prisoners, which is stored in a number of centralised databases. For example, the Total Offender Management Solution (TOMS) holds more than 88,000 prisoner records, 43,000 drug test results, and more than 1 million security search results. Intelligence information on suspicious behaviour and activity is stored in a separate central database. Large amounts of data are used by intelligence and security teams to limit the supply of drugs and alcohol in prisons.
We consulted with the Department in writing this report to make sure the information could not be used to exploit an already stressed system. At times, this resulted in the need to report limited identifiable and detailed information. Our detailed findings were provided to the Department.
[1] Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services 2016 Western Australia’s Prison Capacity
[2] Australian Bureau of Statistics, 4517.0 – Prisoners in Australia, 2016.
[3] www.aihw.gov.au/prisoner-health/illicit-drug-use – AIHW website accessed 22 Sept 2016.