Legislative Council Tuesday 19 November 2019
Ms FORREST asked the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council, Mrs Hiscutt -
With regard to the Tasmania Prison Service -
(1) (a) What is the most recent assessment of the average daily cost for each male prisoner?
(b) What is the most recent assessment of the average daily cost for each female prisoner?
(c) Who was responsible for undertaking these assessments?
(2) (a) What cost assessments are available for the average daily cost for each prisoner annually over the five years prior to the most recent assessment for male and female prisoners listed separately?
(b) Who was responsible for undertaking these assessments?
(3) (a) What areas/level of security is the prison divided into to house male prisoners while incarcerated?
(b) Female prisoners while incarcerated?
(4) What is the designed capacity of each area/level of security of the prison listed separately by -
(a) Area/level of security?
(b) Gender?
(5) What has been the prison occupancy level on 1 July in each of the last five years in each area of the prison, listed separately by -
(a) Area/level of security?
(b) Gender?
(6) What is the total number of prisoners who have been released in the last five years listed on an annual basis?
(a) How many male prisoners have been released on remission each year for the last five years?
(b) What has been the length of those remissions individually?
(7) (a) How many female prisoners have been released on remission each year for the last five years?
(b) What has been the length of those remissions individually?
(8) (a) How many male prisoners who have been released on remission have reoffended and been sentenced to further custodial sentences in the last five years?
(b) How many female prisoners who have been released on remission have reoffended and been sentenced to further custodial sentences in the last five years?
(9) (a) How many male prisoners who have been released on remission have not reoffended in the last five years?
(b) how many female prisoners who have been released on remission have not reoffended in the last five years?
(10) (a) How many male prisoners who have been released without remission have reoffended and been sentenced to further custodial sentences in the last five years?
(b) How many female prisoners who have been released without remission have reoffended and been sentenced to further custodial sentences in the last five years?
(11) (a) How many male prisoners who have been released without remission have not reoffended in the last five years?
(b) How many female prisoners who have been released without remission have not reoffended in the last five years?
(12) (a) How many male prisoners who have been released on parole have reoffended and been sentenced to further custodial sentences in the last five years?
(b) How many female prisoners who have been released on parole, have reoffended and been sentenced to further custodial sentences in the last five years?
(13) (a) How many male prisoners who have been released on parole have not reoffended in the last five years?
(b) How many female prisoners who have been released on parole have not reoffended in the last five years?
(14) (a) How many male prisoners who have been released without parole have not reoffended in the last five years?
(b) How many female prisoners who have been released without parole have not reoffended in the last five years?
(15) (a) How many male prisoners who have been released without parole have reoffended and been sentenced to further custodial sentences in the last five years?
(b) How many female prisoners who have been released without parole have reoffended and been sentenced to further custodial sentences in the last five years
(16) What are the annual rates of overtime worked by custodial officers over the last five years listed annually by hours and cost?
(17) What are the annual rates of sick leave taken by custodial officers over the last five years listed annually by hours and cost?
ANSWER:
Mrs HISCUTT (Montgomery - Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council) - Mr President, because the answer is lengthy and contains tables, I seek leave to table the answer and have it incorporated into Hansard.
Leave granted.
Incorporated answer read as follows -
(1) In August 2019, the Department of Justice undertook an assessment to determine the 2018‑19 average daily cost for each prisoner in order for it to be published within the Productivity Commission's Report on Government Services.
The cost provided has been determined in line with the Productivity Commission's definitions, which are as follows -
· Average operating expenditure, on corrective services per prisoner/offender per day, net of payroll tax, operating revenues for ordinary activities and depreciation on government-owned assets.
· Operating expenditure per prisoner per day excludes expenditure on prisoner transport and health services which are reported separately as descriptors.
For 2018-19, Tasmania's real net operating expenditure has been determined as $312 per prisoner per day. This figure is the same for both male and female prisoners.
(2) The Department of Justice annually reports Tasmania's costs per prisoner per day (in accordance with the above definitions) in the Productivity Commission's Report on Government Services.
The following is a breakdown of Tasmania's real net operating expenditure per prisoner per day over the last five years -
2018-19 $312
2017-18 $305
2016-17 $297
2015-16 $312
2014-15 $326
(3) The Tasmania Prison Service maintains facilities located at Risdon Vale, Hobart and Launceston that provide care and custody, at various levels of security, for prisoners and persons remanded in custody.
Prisoners are assigned a security rating through the classification and placement process, based on a comprehensive risk assessment and an evaluation of their individual needs. Prisoners are assigned to a facility with a security rating equal to or greater than the prisoner's individual security rating.
The reception prisons located at Hobart and Launceston are maximum security rated facilities that primarily hold people on remand (both male and female) for a short period of time while they are inducted into custody, or while they await appearance in court. Prisoners of all classification levels can be accommodated at the reception prisons.
The Risdon Prison Complex is a maximum security-rated facility that holds male prisoners of all classification levels. The RPC is broken up into a maximum security precinct and a medium security precinct.
The Ron Barwick Minimum Security Prison is a medium security-rated facility that primarily holds male minimum security-rated prisoners. Some designated areas of the RBMSP facility can accommodate medium security-rated prisoners.
The Mary Hutchinson Women's Prison is a maximum security-rated facility that holds female prisoners of all classification levels. The MHWP is broken up into a maximum security precinct, a medium security precinct and a minimum security precinct.
(4) The Tasmania Prison Service reports prison capacity rates in accordance with the national counting rules as determined in the Productivity Commission's Report on Government Services. As such, the design capacity of a facility is defined as -
Total number of cells designed for single occupancy, plus the number of designated bed placed in shared cell or dormitories.
Design capacity excludes bed places used for special purposes. For the Tasmania prison Service dedicated inpatient, observation, crisis support, disciplinary separation and temporary beds, as well as decommissioned areas of a prison are not included in the design capacity count. With the exception of a small number of 'buddy cells', all cells are designed for single occupancy.
The current capacity (as per the below table) better reflects the number of cells that are fit for purpose and available for regular use.
On 26 September 2019 the design capacity and the current capacity of the Tasmanian prison facilities was as follows:-
|
Prison |
Design capacity * |
Offline cells/ rooms |
Additional Beds |
Current capacity |
|
Hobart Reception Prison |
36 |
|
|
36 |
|
Launceston Reception Prison |
26 |
- |
- |
26 |
|
Mary Hutchinson Women's Prison |
63 |
|
17* |
80 |
|
Risdon Prison Complex |
299 |
6 |
- |
293 |
|
Medium Security |
196 |
6 |
- |
190 |
|
Maximum Security |
103 |
- |
- |
103 |
|
Ron Barwick Minimum Security Prison |
296 |
- |
- |
296 |
|
Divisions 1 - 8 |
280 |
- |
|
280 |
|
O'Hara Cottages |
16 |
|
|
16 |
|
TOTAL (ROGS) |
720 |
6 |
17 |
731 |
* 17 bunk beds were installed in August 2017; these beds are designed for ongoing use and as such are not recorded as temporary or surge beds.
In addition to the above, a number of temporary beds have also been installed in a number of prison facilities; these are used as designated surge beds during periods of heightened prisoner numbers. These beds are not available for routine operational use.
(5) The table below captures relevant prisoner capacity and utilisation rates for the last three years as at the first business day of the financial year.
The utilisation rate is determined by dividing the current capacity by the prisoner population.
Overall, the overall prison utilisation rates were as follows -
1 July 2019 94 per cent
2 July 2018 94 per cent
3 July 2017 92 per cent
Data for 2016 and 2015 are not readily available in a comparable format.
(6)
|
Year |
Release Total |
|
2015 |
1478 |
|
2016 |
1556 |
|
2017 |
1610 |
|
2018 |
1829 |
|
2019 (up until 21 September 2019) |
1337 |
(7) (a) and (b) and (8) to (15)
Data to answer questions (7)(a) and (7)(b) and (8) to (15) are not readily available. The systems used by the Department of Justice are not set up to readily generate the data required. A project could be developed in order to examine ways to generate this data; however, this could possibly take a number of months and would require the reallocation of resources.
|
Year |
Sum of Hours |
Sum of Amount $ |
|
2015 |
29 298.87 |
2 140 754.18 |
|
2016 |
40 756.29 |
3 049 967.34 |
|
2017 |
39 303.84 |
3 008 954.11 |
|
2018 |
55 377.47 |
4 351 142.90 |
|
2019 |
60 753.38 |
4 895 687.54 |
|
Grand Total |
225 489.85 |
17 446 506.07 |
(16)
|
Year |
Sum of Hours |
Sum of Amount $ |
|
2015 |
29 298.87 |
2 140 754.18 |
|
2016 |
40 756.29 |
3 049 967.34 |
|
2017 |
39 303.84 |
3 008 954.11 |
|
2018 |
55 377.47 |
4 351 142.90 |
|
2019 |
60 753.38 |
4 895 687.54 |
|
Grand Total |
225 489.85 |
17 446 506.07 |
(17)
|
Year |
Sum of Transaction Amount - Hours |
Sum of Dollar Amount $ |
|
2014-15 |
27 925.82 |
1 149 085.86 |
|
2015-16 |
29 381.38 |
1 209 450.50 |
|
2016-17 |
35 738.41 |
1 462 580.67 |
|
2017-18 |
39 562.86 |
1 608 683.94 |
|
2018-19 |
44 914.79 |
1 810 065.12 |
|
Grand Total |
188 260.91 |
7 690 618.37 |
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