Western Australia's primary mens' remand prison is overcrowded, severely understaffed and inhumane for inmates and staff, a review has found.
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Inspector of Custodial Services Neil Morgan found almost every cell at Hakea prison housed two prisoners, despite being designed for one person.
Mr Morgan said there were 1200 men in 10 units, and the lack of personal space in the "noisy, cramped and stressful" units compromised the dignity of inmates and the safety of prisoners and staff.
Prisoners were not getting their daily entitlement to visits, the kitchen could not cater for the population, inmates were sometimes unable to get a medical appointment, some ate in their cell near the toilet, and the video link for the courts was "dangerously" crowded.
"Hakea is overcrowded with no immediate signs of reprieve," Mr Morgan said.
"This environment was not decent or humane for prisoners or staff."
But Corrective Services Commissioner Tony Hassall said cells had been fitted with bunk beds and not all were in use, adding there was capacity for more.
"While this arrangement is not ideal ... Hakea has managed many thousands of prisoner movements without major incident and most are released in under a month," he said.
Mr Morgan is also monitoring prisoner-on-prisoner assaults, saying they appear to have increased since mid-2018.
Mr Hassall said a crowded prison invariably increased the threat of tension, so inmates were moved between prisons and disruptive individuals were isolated to minimise the risk.
In the first quarter of 2018, there were only two days when the facility did not experience some form of lockdown due to short staffing, and inmates felt unsafe with the inadequate supervision, the report found.
Mr Morgan also found Hakea had not been able to keep up with prisoner assessments, which determined each inmate's security rating, placement, education and treatment needs.
In January there were 538 assessment due to be conducted for men in the metropolitan area, with 483 past the 28-day requirement.
Without an assessment, a prisoner cannot participate in an official rehabilitation program, which means they can be denied parole.
Mr Hassall said prison programs were targeted to sentenced inmates, but they were working on the assessments backlog.
He also said a new video link facility at the prison featured 11 rooms.
Australian Associated Press
