Page 484 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 21 February 2018
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This significant progress on all of the recommendations arising from the Moss review reflects my commitment to implementing transformational change and sharing with the community what we will do differently to improve the care, safety and health of detainees. The introduction of an enhanced model of care provided by Winnunga is just one example of this transformational change. I also underline the transparency with which the government has approached this through both an independent oversight committee and full reporting to both the public and the Assembly.
The issue of people absconding while receiving medical treatment has also been raised. There are some complexities in this space. Under section 144A of the Mental Health Act 2015, once a detainee is admitted to an external health facility such as the hospital, that person is taken to be in the custody of ACT Health. This actually raises important requirements to ensure that there is absolute clarity of responsibility between ACT Health and Corrective Services. I am pleased to report that in light of these incidents, there has been a focus on ensuring accountability as well as addressing the specific issues arising from the different incidents.
An independent review of security at the AMC was undertaken in response to the first-ever escape of two detainees from the prison, which occurred in September 2016. This extensive security review also considered other security-related incidents. Recommendations from that review are being progressively implemented. In particular, the review has resulted in a number of improvements including a comprehensive review of policies and procedures; development of operational audit standards in tandem with new policy which will allow for greater governance and compliance auditing; the establishment of a new functional structure within the AMC; enhanced training provision to meet all mandatory training requirements; and establishment of an intelligence cell which will allow ACT Corrective Services to proactively manage and prevent such incidents in the future.
Mrs Jones has also referred to the assault of two detainees in August 2017. While every effort is made to protect and keep safe detainees, assaults in prisons sometimes still occur. That is the simple reality. It is a reflection of the fact that quite a number of people in custody are there because they have sought to resolve conflict outside of custody through violence, and they unfortunately bring the same behaviours to custody. It is important to note, however, that the Report on government services released earlier this year showed that prisoner-on-prisoner assault rates have declined in the AMC over the last year.
Nonetheless, changes have been implemented by ACT Corrective Services and ACT Policing following the Moss review to ensure that the responses to the assault within the AMC are being treated appropriately in a pro-investigation and prosecution approach. These improvements have led to the identification and prosecution of the alleged offenders for this incident. They are currently before the court. My recent announcement and additional funding to provide for the creation of a new centralised intelligence unit within ACT Corrective Services will assist in disrupting such activities, but the reality is that we cannot prevent all assaults from occurring.
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