Private contractors manage a number of court custody centres in WA where prisoners and persons in custody are held prior to appearing in court.
One contract covers the Central Law Courts and District Court buildings, with the other responsible for outer metropolitan and major regional court custody centres and the Fiona Stanley Hospital Secure Facility.
The report by the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services (OICS) was tabled in State Parliament today following inspections between December 2020 and July 2021.
Director General of the Department, Dr Adam Tomison, said robust governance arrangements were in place, including multiple oversight mechanisms, to monitor service delivery and compliance with both contracts.
“Since the last OICS inspection in 2018, the Department has made several improvements to contract management and service delivery,” Dr Tomison said.
“This includes enhanced oversight through additional audits, improved data validation and increased compliance monitoring.”
A $12 million information technology upgrade at the District Court Building and Central Law Courts enabled the Department to continue some court functions remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic via State-wide video links.
There have been recent security upgrades at a number of court complexes, including Bunbury, Busselton, Fremantle, South Hedland, Karratha, Mandurah, Midland, and the Perth Children’s Court.
A comprehensive abatement regime also exists under both contracts for failure of the contractors to deliver the required services in accordance with specifications of the contract.
The OICS report made two recommendations, one which was supported as current practice, with the other one noted.
The Department acknowledges that while the majority of the prisoner movements are facilitated without issues, one of the contractors, Ventia, has experienced some challenges, primarily in regional and remote locations.
The Department will continue to monitor and assess the performance of both contractors and make improvements where necessary.
Biannual assessments are undertaken at all regional and outer metro court complexes with the major CBD court complexes being reviewed every three years to identify any required security and infrastructure improvements.
