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NEWS FEATURE
by Joel Chan
May 27, 2003
IT had been dubbed the unhappiest prison in WA.
Situated about 27km south of Perth, the State's main remand, receival
and assessment centre, Hakea Prison, is fast gaining notoriety.
Recent deaths in custody coupled with bitter and demoralised prison
guards, have made this maximum security prison a very miserable
place.
However, it was never meant to be this way.
Formed through a $26 million amalgamation of the former Canning
Vale Prison and the CW Campbell Remand Centre, it was to be the
forefront of prisons in WA.
The centre boasted of the State's first self-care block designed
for a few selected long-term prisoners who were allowed to cook
and clean for themselves.
Its education centre could provide up to 30 full-time prison students
and another 40 part-time students with courses ranging from basic
literacy skills through to TAFE and tertiary studies. Inmates are
either employed in the laundry or in areas such as carpentry, metal
trades, auto mechanics and much more.
So why is the place clouded with controversy over recent years?
Its widespread problems today include disgruntled prison guards
and the widely reported custody deaths, where prisoners either take
their own lives or were killed in accidents.
According to Custodial Services Inspector Professor Harding, the
prison's problems had its roots of discontentment stemming from
the merger of the two previous correctional facilities.
In his latest report, Professor Harding said the negative attitude
around the prison guards had affected communication with prisoners.
This sometimes led to prisoners left waiting to find out about their
bail situation while others were not unlocked on time.
Furthermore, he said the officers were always on the verge of striking.
WA Prison Officers Union president Phil Gilbert said it was more
than just a small bunch of unhappy officers and had warned the Department
of Justice about the problem for more than two years but to no avail.
Mr Gilbert said some of the 200-odd officers at Hakea were often
seconded for other duties while more replacement staff was needed
to cover those absent.
The department's prisons executive director Terry Simpson however
blamed the demoralised guards on a small group of staff who were
unwilling to contribute to, or accept the prison's changes.
Aiming to for a solution, Professor Harding soon appointed former
acting director of Juvenile Custodial Services Jeff Enoch to deal
with the problem and further investigate the matter.
Nevertheless, Hakea's problems would not end there as Mr Enoch soon
found himself in the centre of a corruption scandal after it was
revealed he had misused his government credit card. He later resigned
after it was alleged he had paid for prostitutes, strippers and
alcohol at taxpayers' expense and could face a possible jail sentence
in the prison he oversaw.
This in turn sparked an audit of the government credit card presently
used by 80 Department of Justice staff.
Still, these were by far not the end of the troubled remand centre's
problems as the underlying and ongoing issue of custodial deaths
soon became a crisis.
Investigations were called into the deaths of two teenage Aboriginal
youths who had earlier this year taken their lives within five weeks
of each other Donald Keene, 19, had been remanded on charges of
armed robbery and aggravated burglary, while his friend Damien Garlett,
18, was jailed for unlawful wounding and assault. Donald was awarded
an unaffordable bail of $10,000 while Damien was not granted bail.
Families of the teenage youths blamed the fear and loneliness in
a hardcore adult prison as the cause of their deaths. They said
the warning signs were already present and were angry the boys were
not placed under observation or given psychiatric assessment.
This sparked a call for the Government to look into the possibility
of placing young adults in separate facilities from the general
prison population.
Attorney-General Jim McGinty said the remand centre had recorded
eight of the 21 deaths in WA prisons since February and ordered
an inquiry to identify ways to prevent the deaths.
"There might still be attitudinal or systemic matters at Hakea that
require urgent attention," Mr McGinty said.
Sharing similar views, Professor Harding said WA had the highest
rate of prison deaths in the country where five of the Hakea deaths
were suicides and five of the prisoners who died were Aboriginals.
He said the latest inquiry would focus on practical measures and
would not repeat the work of the royal commission into black deaths
in custody.
"I would expect we can say something fresh and new and practical,"
he said.
He added the recommendations would only be made at the end of October
this year and hoped they could also apply to the other State prisons.
Deaths in Custody Watch Committee executive officer Paul Delphin
said there was an urgent need for better services for youths in
adult prisons. He welcomed the latest inquiry and said he hoped
it would include a review of prison procedures after a death and
the coordination of funeral services for families.
However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission South-West
commissioner Farley Garlett said an inquiry into prison services
would not address the issues landing Aboriginals in jail.
Mr Garlett said the problem lay in the mandatory sentencing laws
and from the fact that people who could not afford to pay their
fines, landed up in jail.
Nonetheless, until such a time where a solution would be viable,
lives had been lost while Hakea's problems are very much alive and
the place would still remain unhappy.
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