22-07-2025
Hakea Prison still breaching national and international human rights standards
Conditions in one of WA's busiest prisons are continuing to breach national and international human rights standards, according to the prisons watchdog.
An inspection found Hakea Prison in Canning Vale remained overcrowded, with some cells holding three prisoners despite being designed for one.
"The conditions are still in breach of international human rights," Inspector of Custodial Services Eamon Ryan told the ABC.
"The prison is full, way over capacity, and the prisoners that are being held there are not getting any sort of effective rehabilitation.
The prison is the state's main remand facility, mostly holding inmates who are yet to be sentenced.
Mr Ryan said the problem with a lack of rehabilitation went beyond individual prisoners.
"Most people who are in prison will one day be released from prison, and they'll be standing next to you in the shopping centre or on the street," he said.
"And if they don't get effective rehabilitation, they're more than likely to come out worse than they went in."
Longstanding problems came to a head in mid-2024 when Mr Ryan issued a show cause notice to the government over its running of the facility — one of the strongest warnings he can issue.
Since then, he said, there had been increased recruitment of prison officers to address staffing pressures and the creation of a task force to tackle other issues.
"Despite this, the men at Hakea are still being held in conditions that do not meet the basic level of decent treatment required under national and international human rights and standards," Mr Ryan's report reads.
"There is limited evidence available to me to show that the significant system level reform and change needed is likely to be achieved."
The report's first recommendation is for the government to hold a "formal inquiry" into problems at Hakea to work out a path forward.
"The problems in Hakea are symptomatic of the broader problems within the justice system," Mr Ryan said.
"I think we need to have a circuit breaker.
"We need to look at all options, not just how to manage prisons, not just how to have increased bed capacity.
"We need to look at diversion programs, we need to look at pre-release programs, we need to look at programs and rehabilitation within prison, and then better support once people are released from prison to help them not return to prison."
A family member of a prisoner who was recently in Hakea has described conditions as "barbaric", echoing many of Inspector Ryan's concerns.
The ABC has referred to the family member as Darren because he asked to remain anonymous due to an upcoming sentencing hearing.
"The conditions in the cells are unhygienic. There's cockroaches everywhere," he said.
"[They said] on one occasion there were 40 cockroaches overnight that they caught in one room, and three [people] to a cell.
Darren said he had tried to visit the family member six times over about two months, but half were cancelled before he could attend, which he blamed on short-staffing and lockdowns.
He said he used to believe in locking up prisoners and throwing away the key, but seeing a close family member's experience first-hand had completely changed his views.
"We should be putting money into the prisons to do rehabilitation because all we're doing in there is breeding offenders and turning them against the custodial system," he said.
The family member had recently been transferred to a different prison, Darren said, where they were doing "much better".
In a statement, the Justice Department said it was "actively implementing changes" at Hakea, including efforts to improve medical and custodial staffing.
"We remain committed to addressing issues identified by [the Inspector of Custodial Services] and delivering better conditions and outcomes for Hakea Prisoners," Director General Kylie Maj said.
Corrective Services Commissioner Brad Royce said a Hakea task force was working to improve the safety, care and welfare of prisoners and return to normal daily routines.
"Beyond Hakea, the department is also strategically managing the overall adult prisoner population across WA through a newly established adult prisoner population co-ordination working group," he said.
"This initiative demonstrates our commitment to systemic, state-wide solutions."
The department supported or supported in principle all of the recommendations it was responsible for, including allowing all prisoners access to at least one hour of fresh air each day, ensuring access to clean clothes and increasing access to social visits.
