Roebourne Revisited

THE Inspector of Custodial Services in WA will make an ‘announced’ visit to Roebourne prison in May.

He will be met at the correctional facility described as the worst in the State by a scorched ring of hills burnt in a bushfire behind the prison whose entry signs have been vandalised by firebugs.

The Inspector’s previous findings, tabled in State Parliament in 2016, were damning; one of his biggest concerns the lack of air conditioning in male cells.

With daily temperatures topping 30C to 35C-plus, StreetWise was told only female inmates have air-con. Male prisoners have ceiling fans, though inmates have access to air-conditioned common areas. Thankfully, Cyclone Veronica brought some relief last month.

The Justice Department told StreetWise the prison housed 214 men and 12 women.

When approached by StreetWise, Greens WA MLC Alison Xamon described conditions at the prison as a human rights violation and called on WA Corrective Services Minister Fran Logan to install air-con in all cells, estimated at $2 million.

The Premier and Mr Logan refused to comment when contacted by StreetWise.

Between 2010 and 2016, the prison health centre reported 82 cases of heat-related illness. The Inspector’s report described the living conditions at the prison as, “intolerable and inhumane”.

Though outside temperatures often reach 40C-plus, cells can reach 50C-plus. Roebourne airport  recorded 48C at the start of March this year.

Ms Xamon said though the State Government has known about the intolerable living conditions, it continues to let inmates cook in ‘hell’.