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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-06-13 Daily Xml
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PRISON CONDITIONS

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite) (14:52): I have a supplementary, Madam Speaker. My question on the same subject is to the Minister for Correctional Services. When did she first became aware of the circumstances surrounding the treatment of these two mentally ill prisoners and what action did she take and when?

The SPEAKER: That is not a supplementary. I will consider that a question. Minister for corrections, do you wish to answer that?

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) (14:53): Can I take the opportunity to give the house a little background about this particular prisoner, and also the Aboriginal prisoner that the member for Waite has mentioned. This prisoner was sentenced to eight years and two months' prison for the offence of arson, as the Minister for Health said. She burnt down a building. She was not detained under the Mental Health Act and she was later sentenced to a further nine months' imprisonment for an aggravated assault with a weapon against a prison officer. She was also sentenced in January 2012 for two counts of aggravated assault against prison officers and her current sentence is due to expire in February 2015.

In addition to her violence towards staff at Adelaide Women's Prison, she has made approximately 30 attempts at self-harm. Many of them have been very serious, including making a laceration in her neck.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: It is not a punishment. Following that incident she made continued and repeated efforts to reopen the wound with foreign objects, such as a pencil and stones inside the wound, and I understand that at one stage the infection in this wound was life-threatening. She had to have medical care. As the Minister for Health said, this prisoner has been diagnosed with severe, borderline personality disorder and experiences psychogenic seizures. It has been reported that she was left in nappies. That is not so. I am advised that, in fact, she was provided with incontinent aids to manage herself during incontinence when she was having seizures. The department engaged independent experts in borderline personality disorder and they received some advice about how they could better manage this person—

Ms Chapman: Did they recommend handcuffs?

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: All of the information that I have had from the department throughout this is their concern for keeping this woman safe.

Ms Chapman: Did they recommend handcuffs?

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: All of this was about keeping this woman safe and, in fact, in the advice that we received the clinical director and consultant physician from Spectrum said the following, and I quote:

I wish to congratulate and commend the Adelaide prison system and the services for managing a very complex, psychiatric patient in the prison system. The fact that the prisoner is still alive is due—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, before you read some more. Do you want to hear this or do you want to leave the chamber? This is very topical at the moment and people are interested. I cannot hear above your noise. If you do not want to hear it, leave.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: It continues:

The fact that the prisoner is still alive is due to the persistent efforts of the staff and clinicians of the prison and the forensic system.

The prisoner was restrained. It was a strict regime. She was not prevented from any movement, she was prevented from accessing the wound she had inflicted in her neck and causing herself more harm.

In relation to the Aboriginal prisoner referred to in The Australian today, I am told that his list of offences include assault police, aggravated assault against a police officer, commit assault three times, dishonestly take property and arson. He was remanded in custody for an assessment of his mental health under section 269 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act, and this was not a decision of correctional services, but a decision of the courts. He was accommodated in the health centre for his own safety, and to provide him with access to a carer each day. It is understood the prisoner committed multiple assaults on officers during his time in custody. The principal adviser of offender services sent an email to the manager of custodial operations on 12 June, and I quote from the content of that email:

A carer was present every morning in the health centre. He was accommodated here for his own safety and wellbeing and to provide him with access to a carer. The offender has spina bifida and would also spit at staff at times. The offender wore pull-ups and was generally able to replace the pull-ups himself if he soiled them. Nursing staff would talk him through this process at the barrier. If he needed assistance, nursing staff would provide assistance and there may have been some sort of delay whilst waiting for DCS staff to open his cell. Karen advised that her staff said he was never left overnight or for long periods in soiled pull-ups.

To think that our—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: To think that our corrections staff who work with the most difficult people in our community and that health staff would allow someone to stay in soiled nappies for 20 hours is an offence to every PSA member, and an offence to every nurse in this state.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister's time has expired—but it is an important question.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! We have moved on.

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