Latest news with #CorrectionsAct
West Australian
12-05-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Massive prison boost will bring more beds, staff
More than $700 million will be set aside in next week's state budget as one state government plans for increased demand thanks to new, tougher bail laws. The Victorian government passed laws earlier in May to make it harder for alleged offenders to be granted bail. On Tuesday, the state government is expected to announce next week's budget will invest $727 million to ramp up capacity across the prison and justice system. Almost 1000 additional adult prison beds will open across the system and an additional 88 beds will open at youth justice centres at Cherry Creek and Parkville. The announcement also includes amendments to the Corrections Act to crack down on prisoners who assault and injure custodial staff. The changes mean any prisoner convicted of assaulting and injuring staff can expect additional prison time on top of their existing sentence. In a statement, a state government spokesperson said community safety came first in Victoria, and there are consequences for breaking the law. "Our tough new bail laws mean more people charged with serious offenders are going to jail. That's why we need to open more prison beds now," the spokesperson said. "We have zero tolerance for prisoners who assault our staff. Our new laws make the consequences clear." Community and Public Sector Union secretary Karen Batt said despite more beds being brought online, there aren't enough staff to operate them, leading to concerns about safety and security. The budget allocation of $700 million for prison beds is a positive step, she said, but more collaboration was needed with the government to ensure the funds are used effectively. "This is the response we called for arising from the bail changes, but we also need to address continuing violence ... and the dismissive response from the Department of Justice hierarchy to these ongoing assaults inside to get existing officers confident to come back to work," Ms Batt told AAP.
Perth Now
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Massive prison boost will bring more beds, staff
More than $700 million will be set aside in next week's state budget as one state government plans for increased demand thanks to new, tougher bail laws. The Victorian government passed laws earlier in May to make it harder for alleged offenders to be granted bail. On Tuesday, the state government is expected to announce next week's budget will invest $727 million to ramp up capacity across the prison and justice system. Almost 1000 additional adult prison beds will open across the system and an additional 88 beds will open at youth justice centres at Cherry Creek and Parkville. The announcement also includes amendments to the Corrections Act to crack down on prisoners who assault and injure custodial staff. The changes mean any prisoner convicted of assaulting and injuring staff can expect additional prison time on top of their existing sentence. In a statement, a state government spokesperson said community safety came first in Victoria, and there are consequences for breaking the law. "Our tough new bail laws mean more people charged with serious offenders are going to jail. That's why we need to open more prison beds now," the spokesperson said. "We have zero tolerance for prisoners who assault our staff. Our new laws make the consequences clear." Community and Public Sector Union secretary Karen Batt said despite more beds being brought online, there aren't enough staff to operate them, leading to concerns about safety and security. The budget allocation of $700 million for prison beds is a positive step, she said, but more collaboration was needed with the government to ensure the funds are used effectively. "This is the response we called for arising from the bail changes, but we also need to address continuing violence ... and the dismissive response from the Department of Justice hierarchy to these ongoing assaults inside to get existing officers confident to come back to work," Ms Batt told AAP.
NZ Herald
29-04-2025
- NZ Herald
Trade Me auction for Corrections uniform prompts police investigation
The department was still trying to establish the identity of the seller, and had referred the matter to police. 'Under Department of Corrections Policy, staff members must return all uniform items when they leave the department for safety and security reasons,' Marsh said. 'They must also return any unusable items at any stage during their employment. Unusable items will have all branding removed and destroyed.' Uniforms could not be passed to other staff members. If uniforms were stolen or lost, staff were expected to immediately report this to their manager. And if items were suspected to have been stolen, it was reported to police. 'All staff are expected to follow our policies and if we receive any information suggesting staff are not meeting the standard required of them, we investigate and take the appropriate action,' Marsh said. A screengrab of the Trade Me listing showed that it was being sold without a reserve and had attracted 11 bids. The pick-up address was listed on Auckland's North Shore. Another screengrab showed the seller congratulating a buyer on April 14 and arranging pick-up details. Trade Me said it could not discuss any member's account activity for privacy reasons. But policy and compliance manager James Ryan said that it was against Trade Me's rules to sell emergency services uniforms, including Corrections uniforms. Only items which could be legally sold were able to be listed on Trade Me, he said. 'We have a dedicated team who monitor the site constantly for things that shouldn't be there. However, with eight million listings onsite right now, we cannot vet every listing.' Under the Corrections Act, it is an offence to pretend to be a security officer or Corrections employee. In 2022, a notorious escape artist used a Corrections uniform to escape Rimutaka Prison. Damon Exley, who stole the uniform off a guard, went on to rape a woman who picked him up while hitchhiking, leading to a major investigation and an apology from Corrections.
