MEDIA RELEASE                                     Embargoed until 12 noon, Tuesday 30th September.

WELL-DESIGNED DISTRICT COURT CUSTODY CENTRE

The jurisdiction of the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services covers the inspection of all Court Custody Centres in the State, with a view to assuring the security and amenity of such Centres. It was under this mandate, and for this purpose that the Office recently carried out an inspection of the Custody Centre of the new District Court prior to the commissioning of the building. This inspection was undertaken as an interim measure prior to opening the facility, as the more intensive and wider inspection of Metropolitan Court Custody Centres is not due until mid-2009.

This interim, pre-operational inspection of the District Court Custody Centre focused on the planning and design of the facility, and did not cover the technology and security systems installed, nor protocols and procedures for operating the Centre. The task was to examine the potential of the newly constructed facilities to support a humane, safe and secure custodial service, and to identify areas of possible risk.

In summary, the broad conclusion drawn from the inspection is that the physical environment is well set up to support the range of activities needed to deliver a quality custodial service, provided that necessary operational requirements are met and a number of identified issues addressed.

There are 14 key findings of the inspection identifying issues that require remedial action. The issues can largely be characterised as relatively minor modifications to design features that impact on access, safety and amenity as opposed to security. These findings have been broadly accepted by the Department of the Attorney General and GSL, the Contractor that operates the Custody Centre, and the Department has put in place a process to rectify the identified problems.

Overall, the design of both the security and amenity of the District Court Custody Centre far exceeds anything that has previously been achieved in Western Australia. Assuming the infrastructure, process and contractual issues identified in the Report are addressed, the new District Court Building promises to meet the reasonable needs of all the users, including persons in custody for many years to come.

Barry Cram
Acting Inspector of Custodial Services
26 September 2008

Barry Cram will be available for comment from 12 noon on Tuesday 30th September and can be
contacted on 9212 6200 or 0403 387 441.
The full Report will be available on the Inspector's website (www.custodialinspector.wa.gov.au)