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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-11-02 Daily Xml
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Prisoner Mail Screening

The Hon. J.S. LEE (14:58): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Correctional Services a question.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: As reported in an article on page 5 of The Advertiser yesterday, can the minister explain how a letter was able to be sent by a convicted paedophile, Mark Trevor Marshall, from gaol to the mother of one of his victims?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:58): I thank the honourable member for her question because I have to say that I was rather disappointed on learning about the particular letter that the honourable member refers to. I can advise that the Department for Correctional Services conducts both targeted and random screening of prisoner mail in an effort to protect victims and intercept criminal behaviour and gather intelligence.

In relation to the particular prisoner in question, I am advised that all outgoing mail was flagged for checking by the department's Ethics, Intelligence and Investigations Unit. It appears that, in this particular instance, a third party may have been involved by forwarding the letter to the victim, making it particularly difficult to detect even with flags in place. The Department for Correctional Services is looking at ways to strengthen its systems to provide greater protection to victims of crime.

I understand that the prisoner in question has a scheduled court appearance and, as such, I am limited in any further comment I can make. What I would say is that, if indeed my advice is correct and a third person has been involved in forwarding the letter to the victim, obviously that is a very different proposition and far more difficult to police.

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