The ACT Inspector of Correctional Services has uncovered an “overall decline” in conditions for detainees at the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC).
Inspector Neil McAllister said his report Healthy Prison Review of the Alexander Maconochie Centre 2022 raised a number of significant concerns about the present situation at the AMC and concluded that overall, conditions had declined since the inaugural Healthy Prison Review in 2019.
Mr McAllister said there had been pockets of progress and areas of promise for systemic improvements since 2019, but the pandemic had significantly impacted operations.
He said these included significant staffing pressure and, for detainees, reduced time out of cell and reduced access to programs and visits.
“However, the big issues of detainee boredom, lack of any education, and a perceived decline in staff/detainee relations are chronic and cannot be attributed to the pandemic alone,” Mr McAllister said.
“The most glaring issue to come out of this review is the widespread boredom experienced by detainees, stemming from lack of any education, few meaningful employment opportunities, and limited opportunities for rehabilitation and preparation for release,” he said.
“Rehabilitation is maximised when detainees are spending their days completing programs, engaging in education and training, working and staying active.”
Mr McAllister said the limited opportunities for rehabilitation over the past three years at the AMC was “letting down” detainees and the ACT community alike.
Despite this, he said his Office was cautiously optimistic that with commitment to addressing the recommendations made in the Review and the realisation of key structural reforms that were currently underway, “positive and sustainable improvements for AMC detainees, staff and visitors can be achieved”.
Mr McAllister made 29 recommendations across the short, medium and long-term, “which we see as both achievable and having meaningful impact”.
The ACT Inspector of Correctional Services’ 237-page Review Report can be accessed at this PS News link.
