Female inmates 'disadvantaged' by overcrowding at Greenough Regional Prison
Women and Indigenous men are facing further disadvantage due to "systemic overcrowding" in Western Australia's prisons, the state watchdog says.
Inspector of Custodial Services Eamon Ryan's report into Greenough Regional Prison, 400 kilometres north of Perth, revealed female inmates have been moved from "ideal" facilities into smaller units to make space for men.
The prison houses both men and women and was put in the spotlight in 2018 after a riot and prison break, which saw 10 inmates escape and spend 10 days on the run.
During the incident, male prisoners also broke into the women's wing armed with makeshift petrol bombs and power tools.
Independent inspector Jan Shuard said at the time, understaffing, regular lockdowns and cancellation of scheduled work, education and recreation activities had created tension in the prison in the lead-up to the event.
The government's response was to construct a dedicated, $12.3 million facility for female inmates, which boasted a high-tech fence to separate the unit from the men's.
But less than two years later, the women were moved to facilities in Perth to make more space for men.
The latest custodial report showed that women were moved back to Greenough prison six months ago, but not in the dedicated section.
Mr Ryan said instead, the women were put in a "small, crowded and lacks fit for purpose infrastructure" section of the prison.
Mr Ryan said removing women from the "ideal" purpose-designed facility to a smaller unit left them "disadvantaged".
The state government did not answer questions about why women were not in the dedicated female unit.
Organiser of the National Network of Incarcerated and formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, Tabitha Lean, said placing men in the dedicated women's unit in Greenough showed the lack of priority for female inmates.
"It's a total step backward in terms of dignity and safety and access to all their support," she said.
Ms Lean said it reflected a deeper, structural issue across Australia where women were treated like they were "expendable".
"There is a clear and consistent pattern of gender disposability," she said.
"It's women who are displaced when budgets are tight. It's women's programs that are cut."
As a result of the overcrowding at all the prisons in WA, Mr Ryan said Greenough's issues were exacerbated by the transfer of inmates from prisons in the Kimberley and Pilbara.
He said about 20 per cent of men at the Geraldton jail were from WA's northern prisons and were largely represented by First Nations people.
Mr Ryan said that while the prison staff were proactive in trying to accommodate cultural practices, the forced disconnect from country created significant challenges.
"They say, 'Look, what I need is to be at home. 'I need family, I need to be on country.'"
Roebourne Prison is in the state's Pilbara region and is another facility that continues to be under scrutiny for poor conditions, overcrowding and over-representation of First Nations people.
Pilbara Indigenous group Ngarluma-Yinjibarndi Foundation (NYFL) chief executive Sean-Paul Stephens echoed Mr Ryan's concerns about the disconnect from family and country when an inmate was moved.
"We're consistently seeing young men in particular getting caught up in the justice system being dislocated from family, being unable to participate in cultural practice like law ceremony," he said.
Mr Stephens said this detracted from the main rehabilitative role of incarceration.
He said structural reform was urgently needed, and early intervention should be a priority.
"Rather than investing in bigger prisons, rather than investing in locking more people up, [the government should invest] in the social and cultural programs that support the social wellbeing of the community," he said.
WA Prison Officers Union secretary Andy Smith said the Greenough inspection was a case study that showed the prison system was failing.
He said overcrowding saw jails around the state put mattresses on cells floor to accommodate more inmates, and the "extreme" work conditions saw about 16 prison officers leave the industry each month.
"Across the state, we're just over 800 officers short at the moment," Mr Smith said.
He said chronically understaffed facilities could not run essential rehabilitation work and education programs, which could contribute to rates of reoffending.
A state government spokesperson said 325 prison officers were trained in 2024, and the Department of Justice planned to recruit 1,200 prison officers over the next three years.
They said increasing the capacity of regional WA prisons was also being considered.
Shadow Minister for Corrective Services Adam Hort said the current system did not facilitate rehabilitation.
"When you've got an overcrowded prison, often those rehabilitation programs are stifled or cancelled," he said.
"This is not corrective services. It's just a holding pen where we're making prisoners worse than when they first came in."
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