Drugs in Prisons

Mr KNOLL (Schubert) (14:37): My question is to the Minister for Correctional Services. Is the minister aware of how often needles have been used in violent incidents, either as prisoner on prisoner or prisoner on officer assaults over the past three years?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health, Minister Assisting the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (14:37): I am happy to check the detail of the exact figures that the member has asked for in his question. Of course, in terms of our prisons, safety is a very important factor and in terms of, of course, drugs, which has been a discussion today, eliminating drugs is a very important factor in our prison system as well.

There is a significant amount of work that is underway and has been underway for some time to reduce and hopefully eliminate drugs throughout our system. It's something that of course prison systems throughout the world combat, particularly when you imagine the number of people who come into our prison system who are users of drugs when they have come into the prison system. We have a significant amount of work that is underway in terms of combating drugs, but also other types of contraband in our prison system.

We work very well between the Department for Correctional Services and the South Australian police in ensuring that we undertake operations to detect and eliminate that contraband when it's identified. That includes, as the member has alluded to, needles that might well be used and might pose a safety risk to our staff or other prisoners in our system. That is something that we work hard at.

I can report that it was only last week that we had a significant joint operation between South Australian police and the Department for Correctional Services in terms of an operation conducted at Mobilong Prison that identified a significant operation in terms of providing contraband and attempting to provide contraband into that prison. It was good work between DCS and SAPOL to identify and deal with that threat, and there are a number of people now facing charges because of that. This is a constant effort by the department to do this.

Additional searches have been undertaken. At the same time we have been conducting more searches, they have been finding less contraband. I think that goes to the point that we have less of this in the system, which is a good thing, but there is obviously still more work to do.

The SPEAKER: Point of order.

Mr GARDNER: Standing order 98: the question was quite specific about the number of needles and the minister indicated he didn't—

The SPEAKER: The number of?

Mr GARDNER: —needles used in these assaults—know the answer, and he has now been speaking for nearly three minutes for that, 'Don't know the answer.'

The Hon. J.M. Rankine interjecting:

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: I have finished.

The SPEAKER: The minister has finished; that is good, and the member for Wright is called to order.