The Greens back a new report from the Office of the Custodial Inspector, which calls for improvements in the reception and release practises of people in Tasmania’s prison service.
The Custodial Inspector’s report highlights the positive actions of Tasmanian Prison Service staff in helping people with induction and release. We thank staff for going above and beyond to help Tasmanians in the prison system.
Relying on staff to work late to get the job done isn’t a long-term solution. Staff should be able to go home on time, knowing prisoners released late in the day have a safe place to stay that evening.
We support the Custodial Inspector’s recommendations to improve induction and release of prisoners. Prisoners released late in the day should be able to request to stay longer in prison if needed, as an interim solution.
The report highlights issues involving court processes and procedures which result in late in the day releases, matters the Inspector notes is outside of their purview to make recommendations on. We urge the government to further investigate what can be done to improve this.
There are still eight recommendations from the Custodial Inspector’s 2018 report which have not been implemented. We encourage the Liberals to prioritise the implementation of these, as well as new recommendations from the Custodial Inspector.
