Warning as Bandyup Women’s Prison sets yet another record

Friday 06 Feb 2015

The WA Prison Officers’ Union has warned that tensions at Bandyup women’s prison are continuing to escalate, as prisoner numbers hit yet another new high.

The prison muster at Bandyup hit 340 this week; well above the prison’s capacity of 259.

WAPOU Secretary John Welch said the prison was so overcrowded that prisoners were already sleeping on mattresses on the floor, and questioned how more prisoners were going to be accommodated.

“The overcrowding at Bandyup is already at crisis point, and it’s going to get worse as the prison population continues to increase,” said Mr Welch.

“We are very concerned for the safety of our members working in such crowded conditions, as it can often lead to violence breaking out.”

Mr Welch said the government was well aware of the overcrowding problems at Bandyup, and had announced a policy to move some female inmates to the male Hakea prison.

However, it’s understood the new units being built at Hakea would not be opened for at least another 12 months.

“We need something to be done to alleviate the overcrowding now, not in a year’s time,” he said.

“We want to know if the government has another plan to accommodate extra prisoners in the meantime, and if it does, we want to know what that plan is.

“If the government had accepted our solution and housed female prisoners at the Wandoo facility, they could have been moved in a matter of weeks, not a year.”