942. Remandees now make up nearly a quarter of all people in Victoria’s prisons, however my investigation found that very few rehabilitation programs are available to them, despite growing numbers and longer periods on remand.
943. The evidence suggests that opportunities have been missed to address behaviours and needs which may have contributed to offending and which may reduce the risk of a remandee reoffending.
944. Corrections Victoria advised that it is not appropriate to offer offence- specific rehabilitation programs to those on remand, as they have not yet been convicted. If it is appropriate to hold remandees in prison without having been convicted of an offence, I find it incongruous to deny them the opportunity to participate in a wider range of
rehabilitation programs.
945. Despite an over-representation of women and young people being held on remand, my investigation found a paucity of programs for these groups. There was only one instance of a program for women remandees being delivered last financial year.
946. Corrections Victoria advised my investigation on 31 July 2015 that following a recently completed review of the programs and services available to unsentenced prisoners, it plans to introduce a number of changes to programs and services offered.
947. For sentenced prisoners, there is a range of offending behaviour programs offered, however it is clear from Corrections Victoria’s performance indicators that many prisoners are not being provided with the opportunity to participate in these programs in a timely manner. Data on which programs are delivered and prisoners attending is, to date, patchy. 948. My investigation found that difficulties
in recruiting and retaining qualified staff, issues with accreditation and quality assurance have undermined the delivery of programs.
949. My officers also heard concerns about whether group programs are the most appropriate way to deliver some programs, given the need for prisoners to discuss personal matters and their reluctance to do so within a group.
950. I understand from Corrections Victoria that it has recently completed a review of individual offending behaviour
interventions that complement or provide an alternative to group programs. The review has resulted in a number of changes to the programs and services available, including greater clarity around when individual interventions are appropriate. This is a useful development, as is a more comprehensive approach to data collection on programs and participation rates in this financial year.
Alcohol and other drug programs
951. Over 75 per cent of male prisoners and 83 per cent of female prisoners have reported illicit drug use before entering prison, and it is well recognised as a significant challenge to rehabilitation and prisoner management. 952. While a range of programs are provided
to address these problems – including new programs on specific drugs like ice – my investigation found that the steep population growth in prisons has led to high demand and long waiting lists. As a result, an effective response has been difficult, however I understand funding in this area has recently increased considerably.
953. Marngoneet Correctional Centre was established to provide a therapeutic residential drug treatment program for prisoners identified as having particular needs and risks. However, the pressure of numbers means that Marngoneet now houses many general prisoners, diminishing the effectiveness of the intensive program. While this was made clear in a 2013
evaluation, evidence to my investigation suggests these issues are yet to be addressed.
954. In response to my draft report, the department stated:
… Marngoneet has shifted away from the true therapeutic community model, [and] the correctional system more broadly has moved towards an approach to offer more programs of greater intensity across more prison rather than focussing rehabilitative efforts on a single site. This attends to the operational reality of maintaining a large and complex corrections system while providing prisoners with treatment opportunities irrespective of the prison they reside in.
Regarding the criticism of prisoner placement compromising the culture of the prison, this is an enduring tension in any western correctional system that offers ‘residential’ treatment beds. The challenge is to balance the need to maintain a pro-social treatment … [environment] within the unit or neighbourhood with the realities of [the] client group. Prisoners are not always highly motivated, treatment-ready and committed to positive behaviour change. Nonetheless, this is the task facing clinicians working in a prison setting – motivating unmotivated prisoners to attend, participate in and complete programs.
955. The effectiveness of alcohol and other drug programs in prison is not tested until a prisoner is released back into the community. My investigation found inadequate transitional support services for prisoners with substance abuse issues and limited community based support services for prisoners once they are released. Recently released prisoners have a much higher risk of death and overdose than the general population, underscoring the need for sufficient, coordinated support when they transition back into the community.
Mental health treatment and support
956. In March 2015, 40 per cent of the Victorian prison population had been assessed as having a mental health condition, which equates to 2,574 prisoners across Victoria. 957. The evidence shows that the number
of specialised mental health facilities in Victorian prisons are inadequate to meet the needs of prisoners with mental health issues. This results in an increased risk to the safety of the prisoner, staff and other prisoners.
958. I welcome the increase in the number of specialist treatment beds and the introduction of the specialised mobile mental health service at a number of prisons, however this may need to be further expanded to meet the need for assessment and treatment.
959. Transitional support for people with mental illness is also severely limited and fails to meet the demand. The Community Integration Program for example is limited to 100 places a year and is only available to prisoners at the Melbourne Assessment Prison and Dame Phyllis Frost Centre. Evidence suggests the shortfall will become more acute as numbers continue to rise. 960. The program has recently been evaluated
however the findings were unavailable at the time of writing. Submissions to my investigation contend that post-release support has a beneficial impact, but there are also constraints in the kind and duration of support available.
Education, skills and training
961. Most Victorian prisoners have low levels of literacy and numeracy, as well as limited education and skills. Six per cent of male and 14 per cent of female prisoners finished high school. Many were unemployed at the time they were imprisoned – 63 per cent of men and 45 per cent of women. It is well established that a prisoner’s prospects for successful rehabilitation are improved if they are able to work after they are released. However, without adequate and relevant skills or education, it is very difficult to obtain employment particularly for people who have a criminal record. 962. Although there is a range of education and
skills training programs available inside prisons, there are lengthy waiting lists, and inconsistencies in the performance of providers and the availability of programs. Once again, the impact of the growing population of prisons is felt in the provision of these programs.
963. I note that Corrections Victoria is about to tender for new education providers at the end of 2015. This process presents an opportunity to establish new performance targets and provide more relevant courses and education opportunities, taking into account current employment opportunities. Corrections Victoria should also take this opportunity to address inconsistency in the performance measures applied to education providers across the prison system.
964. Many of the education courses delivered by the TAFEs contracted by Corrections Victoria are also delivered online in the community. While access to online learning is now available in other jurisdictions, there is currently a blanket restriction on prisoner access to the internet, which significantly reduces the range and number of courses available. Providing access to online learning with appropriate monitoring would open up many new education
opportunities and support the reintegration prospects of prisoners.
965. More opportunities for prisoners to work in the pre-release phase would benefit not only the prisoner, but also others by way of compulsory contributions to victims of crime. This warrants further consideration.