Report into Geraldton escape raises more questions than it answers

The WA Prison Officers’ Union has called for the State Government to release the full report into the escape of two prisoners in Geraldton, after the Executive Summary was tabled in Parliament.

WAPOU Secretary John Welch said the flimsy 2 1⁄2 page Summary raised more questions than it answered.

“We still don’t know the answers to some fundamental questions. The Executive Summary states that the CCTV equipment in the van was working, but that it didn’t record, and we still don’t know exactly why,” said Mr Welch.

“The report also revealed that the equipment had stopped working weeks before this escape.

“If that’s the case, clearly Serco has dismally failed in its maintenance obligations and we want to know how it continues to keep its contract when it’s clear to everyone that it’s not up to the job.”

Mr Welch said the missing recording was just one of a series of questions that remained unanswered, and the only way for the public to be certain that the issue had been investigated thoroughly was to release the full report.

“The Minister’s statement that releasing the full report would compromise the operational security of the prison system is rubbish,” he said.

“If Serco really has been advised to change its procedures and it has done so, why would it be a problem now to reveal what really happened?”