Page 2615 - Week 08 - Thursday, 14 August 2014
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reducing recidivism. It is my sincere desire that this two-pronged approach will increase community safety and stave off the need to keep building bigger and bigger jails, as we are seeing in other jurisdictions.
For me, this is a critically important point. We have seen a significant expansion in detainee numbers. It is a trend that there is a range of drivers behind. What is clear is that if we do not take steps to try and tackle our increasing prison population, in the future there will need to be a further expansion at some time. I must place on the table some reluctance to needing to expand the jail. It is not the place that I would prefer to spend the ACT government’s capital moneys. And it is fair to say that the cabinet has agreed with me on this view. That is why we are making the necessary expansion, given the increase in detainee numbers, whilst at the same time taking this second prong of going down the path of justice reform, of funding justice reinvestment research and strategies so that we have also got a long-term solution.
We must address the immediate question of detainee numbers and accommodation pressures. To not do so would be negligent, because of the current pressures we face, both in terms of the impact on detainees with the significant accommodation pressures and also in terms of the pressure on Corrective Services staff, who have had to make additional efforts to deal with the accommodation pressures that are in place. I thank them for their efforts in recent times. There has been extra pressure placed on the AMC, but I think the staff have responded admirably. Part of recognising the additional pressure they have been placed under is the additional resources that have been provided this year in recurrent funding for additional staffing of approximately 18 FTE to deal with those higher detainee numbers.
In addition to the issues around the expansion, the government has provided recurrent funding for the operating costs of the new facilities, including for additional staffing and detainee-related costs. Recurrent funding of $7.577 million that has been provided in 2015-16—and that increases in the outyears, as detailed in the budget—will ultimately provide for an additional 39 full-time equivalent officers in Corrective Services.
A further $5.3 million in funding has been provided through the budget for the design and upgrade of the electronic security systems at the AMC and their ongoing maintenance. The electronic security system is a critical system used to monitor and maintain the safety and security of staff, detainees and visitors to the AMC. The system upgrade will provide the additional capacity necessary to support the electronic security requirements of the new accommodation facilities.
There are other investments that the government has made in Corrective Services in the budget. These include increased funding for the workers compensation premium of $996,000 in 2014-15, and funding towards an information management solution, with $400,000 provided in 2014-15 to enable mapping and documentation of existing business processes in order to prepare for the establishment of specifications for a new offender information management system.
They are the initiatives that are contained in the budget. I should touch on some of the issues raised during the debate today for the clarity of members. I did welcome the
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