recent posts
- Aboriginal Ward family get $3.2m payment for prison van death - 29/07/10
- Prisoner transport changes following death - 27/07/10
- WA crime rate down, say police - 25/07/10
- WA Dept Corrective Services News and Media Releases: Court Security and Custodial Services Contract - 17/07/10
- Prison van death a 'jolt to the system' - 17/07/10
events
MEDIA RELEASE: Dangerously overcrowded prisons making WA more dangerous
23 Jan 2010
On 27 January 2010, the second anniversary of the death of Mr Ward in the back of a government-owned and G4S-operated prison van, the Deaths in Custody Watch Committee (WA) (DICWC) will hold a public meeting calling for action to address the current prison overcrowding crisis in Western Australia.
Since becoming Corrective Services Minister in 2008, Christian Porter has overseen an enormous increase in the rate of prison population growth in WA. The DICWC believes that Mr Porter, by facilitating this increase, is not doing his best for the Western Australian community, and that prison should always be used as the last resort.
As DICWC spokesperson Marc Newhouse explains: “At present, almost all prisons in WA are dangerously overcrowded, and severely under-resourced. The Deaths In Custody Watch Committee has heard many disturbing stories of situations that have resulted from the overcrowding.
read full media release HERE
