00:02There have been warnings for years that prisoners are being subjected to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment as a result
00:09of overcrowding.
00:10In some cases that's factored into judges handing down shorter sentences.
00:15Every Western Australian should have a fire in their belly about the fact that these serious offenders have not received
00:22the sentences that they rightly deserve because of the state of our prison system.
00:26But a decision by the Court of Appeal this month says there's no legal basis for leniency and found it
00:32should stop in most cases.
00:34This is more about clarifying the situation moving forwards rather than saying that it was wrong for judges to have
00:42taken it into account in the past.
00:44Even still, the three justices were clear that there were legitimate concerns as to the conditions in which prisoners are
00:51housed in facilities which are overstretched and under-resourced and that the rehabilitative capacity of such facilities is surely compromised.
01:00Let's create an adult prison system where people come out rehabilitated, better able to integrate into community.
01:06We should be putting more money into providing services and programs to assist prisoners rather than making their conditions intolerable.
01:17The new Corrective Services Minister Tony Butte declined an interview but said in a statement he received an urgent briefing
01:24on prison overcrowding when he took over the portfolio.
01:27He says the government is funding more cells and more activities for prisoners behind bars.
01:32The government is completely ignoring our prison system. They're tinkering at the edges.
01:38Minister for Corrective Services.
01:40In Parliament, the Attorney-General was unapologetic.
01:44If it were a softened crime there wouldn't be an increase in the prison population by over 36%.
01:48An additional 400 prison officers are being recruited each year to meet the growing demand.
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