By Inspector of Custodial Services Eamon Ryan
A report released last week by the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services contains another highly critical assessment of conditions in Hakea Prison, Western Australia’s primary reception and remand prison for men.
Report 162: Follow-up Inspection of Hakea Prison repeats many of the warnings we have raised time and again about conditions in the prison. The Report mirrors serious concerns raised following an inspection of the prison in May 2024 that resulted in a rare Show Cause Notice being issued to the Department of Justice and Minister for Corrective Services about the prison’s unacceptable and inhumane conditions. (These concerns were documented in Report 158 – Inspection of Hakea Prison, published in April 2025.)
Report 162 paints a very bleak picture of Western Australia’s third largest prison which holds around 1,200 men, 84 per cent of whom are held on remand. Hakea is struggling due to overcrowding, understaffing, and inadequate infrastructure. Life inside Hakea Prison is characterised by:
- Overcrowding: Cells originally designed for one often house three, with one man sleeping on a mattress on the floor next to an unscreened toilet. This is compounded by record prison population growth across the entire system with no spare capacity elsewhere to relieve the situation.
- Excessive lockdowns and isolation: Staffing shortages lead to restrictions and prisoners being regularly confined in their cells for up to 16-18 hours per day (often as high as 22 hours). This results in limited access to fresh air, showers, and recreation. It also places the safety and security of the prison at risk of a major disturbance.
- Poor hygiene and health: Meals are served in cells leading to pest infestations. Restrictions limit access to daily showers and clean clothing and bedding, which resulted in prisoners reporting skin infections and other health and hygiene issues.
- Mental health crisis: Rates of self-harm, attempted suicide, and suicide remain high, placing enormous strain on mental health services.
- Limited contact with family: Restrictions and staffing shortages often limit access to phones, and social visits are difficult to book and often cancelled.
- Lack of rehabilitation: Rehabilitation is simply not happening, with significantly limited access to education, employment, or programs, undermining one of Hakea’s core purposes.
The Department of Justice has commenced several initiatives since the Show Cause Notice was issued in May 2024 and Report 158 was released in April 2025. These include establishing the Hakea Safer Custody Taskforce to focus on addressing staffing shortages and improving prisoner welfare. The Taskforce has resulted in increased recruitment of custodial staff, increased incentives and allowances aimed at improving staff attendance, and funding for additional clinical resources.
While the desire for improvement from those responsible for Hakea is there, the scale of improvement does not meet the demands for reform and conditions within the prison remain intolerable.
Report 162 called for a formal inquiry into the operation of Hakea Prison ‘to identify solutions that will restore the rights of prisoners, implement a normal daily routine at the prison, and create a safe working condition for staff’. This stresses the need for urgent action beyond what is currently happening.
It is often said to me that prison is not meant to be easy or comfortable (it is neither), and there is limited public sentiment or support for the reforms and resource commitment necessary to see meaningful improvement. But this ignores several important considerations.
First, the conditions currently being experienced by prisoners in Hakea Prison breach internationally recognised human rights principles for the humane treatment of prisoners. The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (known as the Nelson Mandela Rules) were adopted to honour the legacy of Nelson Mandela and outline modern correctional standards for humane treatment and prison management. The Nelson Mandela Rules contain foundational principles, including:
- Human dignity: Every prisoner must be treated with respect for their inherent dignity and value as a human being.
- Prohibition of torture: No prisoner shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
- Non-discrimination: The rules apply impartially, without discrimination based on race, gender, religion, political opinion, or other status.
- Rehabilitation focus: Imprisonment should aim to rehabilitate and reintegrate prisoners into society, not merely punish.
Second, with few exceptions, everyone currently held in prison will be released at some point. They will be standing next to you in the supermarket or at the football, and community safety will be improved if they come out of prison better than they went in.
Third, someone you know, or love is one mistake away from ending up in prison.
Finally, there are hundreds of good people who go to work in prisons every day and they deserve a safe workplace in tolerable conditions.
There is an urgent need to support advocacy for significant improvement in Hakea Prison and reform across the prison system.
