PRISON DRUG USE

Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (15:26): My question is to the minister for corrections. Will the minister update the house on measures that the Department for Correctional Services is employing to reduce the use of illicit drugs in South Australian prisons?

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (15:27): I thank the member for Mawson for his question. As we know, the introduction and consumption of drugs in prisons is an issue faced by every jurisdiction around the world, and the complexity of this task was the subject of two recent reports published by the Australian Medical Association and the Australian National Council on Drugs.

The report from the National Council on Drugs suggested corrections agencies should have a lesser focus on detection and put more effort into rehabilitation. I want to assure this house and the public that in South Australia we will not reduce our efforts to detect and prevent drugs coming into our prisons. We will continue to employ a number of strategies to stop drugs coming into our prisons, as well as provide treatment for prisoners with drug and alcohol problems.

We will continue to regularly perform urinalysis tests on prisoners to detect the use of illicit drugs. The department's Intelligence and Investigations Unit will continue to work closely with SAPOL to monitor the activities of prisoners and their visitors to intercept and reduce the flow of contraband into the correctional system. Searches of prisoners, their cells and property will continue to be conducted. In the 2011-12 financial year, over 42,000 searches were conducted. As a result, over 900 prohibited items were located and confiscated, including 243 items identified as drug or drug paraphernalia.

The government has recently implemented changes to the Correctional Services Act 1982 which will further bolster the department's ability to fight the introduction of drugs into our prisons, and these changes came into effect last week. New provisions extend search powers by authorised prison staff to include persons and vehicles in other areas of the prison, including prison car parks. Further, the penalty associated with the introduction of contraband into a prison has now been increased from two to five years.

The department also has a strong focus on rehabilitation. The Making Changes program assists offenders make better life choices and includes a focus on substance abuse and drug and alcohol offence related behaviour, which is in addition to the opiate detoxification and substitution programs operated by our Prison Health Service. The department has also implemented a prisoner peer support program at some of the prisons, with TAFE-accredited competencies now being provided to prisoners by Relationships Australia in the areas of communications, managing challenging behaviours and health promotion.

The strategies employed in this context are an example of why South Australia's prison system continues to lead the nation. Not only has it achieved the lowest return to prison rates consecutively for the last four years but it is also the most cost-effective prison system in Australia. I can assure the house that we will give serious consideration to the recommendations from these reports as part of our ongoing efforts to tackle drugs in our prison system.