Women in Prison : a report by the Anti–Discrimination Commission Queensland

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6.4 Low security facilities

Queensland’s use of open custody facilities is one of the lowest in Australia. In 2002–2003, the average daily proportion of prisoners accommodated in open custody in Queensland was 16.4% compared to the national average of 27.3%.[94] This low use of open custody facilities has been recognised as a concern within the DCS, and the ADCQ notes the recent DCS administrative direction which aims to reverse this trend.[95]

The DCS states:
the effect of the administrative direction will be that those prisoners who are serving a period of imprisonment of less than two years and are convicted of non violent, minor violent or non sexual offences are to be immediately considered for placement in open security facilities.[96]

While the directive applies to both male and female prisoners, the DCS submits that the overall impact may be greater for female offenders as, generally, their types of offences carry a lower penalty than those for which males are convicted.

If a prisoner refuses to transfer to an open or community facility, the new DCS directive allows the person in charge to consider restricting privileges, limiting employment or returning the prisoner to secure accommodation. Due to the very small number of low security facilities and options for women, this directive may present a greater problem for female prisoners as opposed to male. For example, some women may not wish to go to NCC from BWCC for reasons such as remoteness from family and difficulty of access for family visits.

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6.4.1 Percentage of low security beds available for female and male prisoners

At 30 August 2004, out of the total number of low security beds available in Queensland, 23% of beds for female prisoners were in open security facilities, compared to 15% for males. At the time, DCS figures showed that facilities with a low security capacity were not filled for either males or females (Tables 6 and 7). Similar figures continue in December 2005. On 12 December 2005 of the beds allocated to female prisoners, 25.6% were low/open custody beds. This compared to male prisoners who had 17.6% low/open custody beds. [97]

Table 6: Distribution of male prisoners by centre and classification

Table of distribution of male prisoners by centre and classification

	Capacity	High	Medium	Low	Open	Unclassified	Total
Arthur Gorrie (secure)	710	636	46	4	10	45	741
Borallon (secure)	492	1	285	145	46	0	477
Capricornia (secure)	402	127	162	24	24	13	350
Lotus Glen (secure)	396	198	169	8	18	42	435
Maryborough (secure)	500	92	70	4	23	5	194
Sir David Longland (secure)	324	198	106	15	19	3	341
Townsville (secure)	359	165	153	18	21	12	369
Wolston (secure)	600	192	265	100	29	1	587
Woodford (secure)	988	263	318	31	30	3	645
Capricornia — Farm (low/open)	96	0	0	0	75	0	75
Darling Downs (low/open)	140	0	0	0	126	0	126
Lotus Glen — farm (low/open)	100	0	0	0	96	0	96
Numinbah Male Unit (low/open)	104	0	0	0	98	0	98
Palen Creek (low/open)	170	0	0	0	132	0	132
Townsville Male Farm (low/open)	60	0	0	0	44	0	44
Aurukun (low/open)	10	0	0	0	0	0	0
Baa’s Yard (low/open)	15	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ozcare (low/open)	51	0	6	7	34	0	47
West Brisbane (low/open)	65	0	2	22	50	0	74
WORC (low/open)	22	0	0	0	122	0	122
Total	5604	1872	1582	378	997	124	4953

Source : Department of Corrective Services figures as at 30 August 2004

Table 7: Distribution of female prisoners by centre and classification

Table of distribution of female prisoners by centre and classification

	Capacity	High	Medium	Low	Open	Unclassified	Total
Brisbane Women’s (secure)	270	91	83	17	22	15	228
Numinbah Women’s Unit (low/open)	25	—	—	0	18	—	18
Townsville Women’s Unit (secure)	40	27	16	—	9	1	53
Townsville Female Farm (low/open)	35	—	9	1	23	—	33
The Helana Jones Community Corrections Centre/Warwick Women’s Work Camp (low/open)	34	—	1	—	27	—	28
Total	404	118	109	18	99	16	360

Source : Department of Corrective Services figures as at 30 August 2004

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6.4.2 Location of low security beds for female and male prisoners

Throughout Queensland, low security beds in low or open security facilities are available in eight locations for male prisoners (not including the WORCs), and only three locations for female prisoners (including WWWC). Low security beds in low security facilities for male prisoners are located in South East Queensland at Darling Downs, Numinbah, Palen Creek, Ozcare and West Brisbane; in Central Queensland at Rockhampton; in North Queensland at Townsville; in Far North Queensland at Mareeba, and until recently, at Maconochie Lodge and two Indigenous placement centres at Aurukun.[98]

By contrast, low security beds for female prisoners are located in South East Queensland at Numinbah, and in Brisbane City at Albion, (with a work camp located at Warwick) and in Townsville.

Men from those regions may be placed in the low and secure facility of Capricornia at Rockhampton, and at the low and secure Lotus Glen facility at Mareeba. Males can also be accommodated in the secure facility at Maryborough. In addition, until recently, male prisoners from certain Indigenous communities on Cape York, in some instances, had the opportunity to be accommodated at the low security outstations at Aurukun and Baa’s Yard. This same opportunity is not available to women from those regions. Also, male prisoners have access to 11 work camps at regional locations across Queensland while women only have access to one work camp at Warwick.

The ability to maintain strong relationships with their children and family is made considerably more difficult for women prisoners who may be incarcerated vast distances from their families.[99]

It is important that DCS develops appropriate ways for women prisoners from remote locations to effectively maintain contact with their families and children. These may include free video links and facilitating family visits.[100]

In December 2005 the DCS advised it has given in–principle support to:

expand the program by establishing a women’s camp in northern Queensland;

and:

the establishment of an additional women’s camp in South–East Queensland when funding becomes available.[101]

The ADCQ supports an expansion of the work camp model. These camps should be established as soon as possible in both northern Queensland and South–East Queensland. Failure to provide equal access to the types of facilities is likely to constitute sex discrimination.

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6.4.3 Discrimination issues with low security custodial infrastructure for women

Numinbah Correctional Centre (NCC)
Numinbah women’s unit has the capacity to accommodate 25 women in a low security prison environment. The physical amenities of the unit are described earlier in this report. The facility also has the capacity to house 104 low security male prisoners who represent the majority of inmates at Numinbah.

The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners states:

Men and women so far as possible be detained in separate institutions: in an institution which receives both men and women the whole of the premises allocated to men and women shall be entirely separate.[102]

Paragraph 53 states:

In an institution for both men and women, the part of the institution set aside for women shall be under the authority of a responsible woman officer who shall have the custody of the keys of all that part of the institution, and that male staff should only enter the part of the institution set aside for women when accompanied by a female officer.

There are a number of issues of concern regarding the way in which women prisoners are accommodated and managed at Numinbah compared to male inmates.

A major concern is that while Numinbah is classified as an open facility for women, the physical reality is that the women’s section is surrounded by a high chain wire electric fence. The gates to the women’s facility are open during daylight hours, but are shut when the electric fence is activated from 8pm to 6am. The purpose of the fence is not to contain the women prisoners, but to protect them from male prisoners in an adjoining unit.

In addition, female prisoners are much more restricted in where they are permitted to go at any given time, and how they are supervised when allowed in areas that are normally out of bounds.

Women prisoners are permitted to be in the women’s unit and the tennis court adjacent to the unit, and with prior approval, can go to the administration area and to a tool shed. However, a guard must always accompany a female prisoner if she is required to be in another part of the facility. If the guard is a male, two women prisoners must be present.

By contrast, more areas of the facility are available to men, including the oval from 3pm to 7.30pm. Male prisoners do not have to be accompanied by a guard when required or permitted to be in other parts of the facility.

While it may be argued that it is necessary to impose these restrictions on women to protect them from male prisoners, it also has the potential to discriminate against female prisoners on the basis of their sex. Their treatment is less favourable than the men’s treatment because they are:

• confined behind an electrified fence;

• restricted to a much smaller area of the facility; and

• required to be accompanied by a guard in many areas.

The increased risk to the safety of the women because they are housed adjacent to the men, means that any benefits from being classified as a low security prisoner and accommodated in an open security facility, are being subjugated to the needs of the larger number of male prisoners.

The Standard Minimum Rules state that ’open institutions by the very fact that they provide no physical security against escape but rely on the self discipline of the inmates, provide the conditions most favourable to rehabilitation of carefully selected prisoners.’ [103] This objective is being compromised for the women prisoners at Numinbah.

The conversion of the Numinbah detention facility for the use of female inmates appears to have been done with insufficient attention paid to its appropriateness for women. Alternative low security facilities, which are suitable and safe, need to be developed for women as soon as possible.

Townsville Correctional Centre (TCC)

In the TCC, there is a minimum security farm for men, free of electric fences, in which male prisoners have some freedom of movement. By contrast, there is no farm for low security female prisoners who are housed in the former warders’ houses.

Because of the overcrowding issue in the Townsville women’s facility, female inmates with low classifications share with others who have higher classifications. These higher classifications necessitated the construction of an electric fence around the accommodation. The lesser freedom of movement for low security females in comparison to low security males may discriminate against women prisoners.

Helana Jones Community Correction Centre
Women with young children under the age of five are accommodated at HJCCC. While there is an outside play area, amenities for children over the age of two are extremely limited. The only indoor play area is a TV room that is used by all women in the centre. Children’s television viewing clashes with centre rules, which only allow the TV to be watched in the evening. The limited space for children to play indoors must be shared with all adult residents of the centre. Parenting of young children in such crowded conditions is a very difficult task, which is made more difficult because the women’s parenting styles and skills are constantly under close scrutiny by both staff and other inmates.

HJCCC also lacks exercise facilities for the women. There is one exercise bike available to the 24 women residing at the centre and no facilities for any other type of exercise. It is not even possible to walk around the grounds because of the layout and limited space.

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6.4.4 Availability of low security beds for prisoners with a disability

The ADA prohibits both direct and indirect discrimination on the basis of impairment, in a number of areas of public life including the provision of goods and services, accommodation and the administration of state government programs. However, it is not unlawful to discriminate on the basis of impairment if the supply of special services and facilities to enable the person with the impairment to participate in those areas of activity, imposes an unjustifiable hardship on the service provider.[104]

The ADA applies to the DCS in its dealing with prisoners with impairments. Impairment is broadly defined and includes loss of bodily functions; malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of part of the body; a condition or malfunction that results in a person learning more slowly than a person without the condition or malfunction; a condition or disease that impairs a person’s thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgement or results in disturbed behaviour; the presence in the body of organisms capable of causing illness or disease, and reliance on a guide dog, wheelchair or other remedial device.[105]

Unfortunately, a number of the older facilities for both males and females are unable to accommodate prisoners in wheelchairs and are not designed to be generally accessible for people with particular physical disabilities. All low security facilities for women in Queensland are problematic for women with certain disabilities.

The Numinbah Women’s Unit cannot be accessed by a person in a wheelchair, and because of the steep topography between its buildings and facilities and the relative remoteness of its location, it is unsuitable for any women with serious health or mobility problems.

ADCQ understands that the Store Street residence attached to the HJCCC has been modified to accommodate residents with certain disabilities though generally HJCCC is not a fully accessible facility for persons with a disability.

The physical environment and the activities performed at the Warwick Women’s Work Camp means it is only suitable for women in relatively good health who are capable of performing reasonably demanding physical work.

The low security area of Townsville Women’s Correction Centre also has limitations for persons with certain disabilities, and cannot be considered a fully accessible facility.

None of the aforementioned low or open security prisons for women appeared to be easily able to accommodate a person with intellectual or mental health disabilities, who may require more support than prisoners without these conditions.

Because of these access and support issues, it would appear that female prisoners with certain physical, mental health or intellectual disabilities are much less likely to be located in one of the low security facilities compared to women without a disability. This appears to discriminate against female prisoners with certain disabilities, who, because of those disabilities, have to be held at the BWCC or the secure area of TWCC for the duration of their sentence.

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RECOMMENDATIONS: Low security facilities

Recommendation No. 9
That the Department of Corrective Services prioritises the establishment of its proposed new work camps for women in North Queensland and South–East Queensland.

Recommendation No. 10
That alternatives to the Numinbah Correctional Centre and Townsville Correctional Centre be developed for housing low security female prisoners as soon as possible. Such alternatives should accord women the appropriate and usual security levels for open classification prisoners and should be entirely separate from institutions for male offenders. The facilities should be designed to meet the needs of female prisoners.

Recommendation No. 11
That the Department of Corrective Services, as a matter of highest priority, ensures that at least one existing low security facility for women be made fully accessible for prisoners with physical disabilities, and that this also be a high priority for all other existing low security facilities for women.

Recommendation No. 12
That the Department of Corrective Services provides the necessary, and possibly additional, support services for women with mental health or intellectual disabilities to have the same opportunity to be accommodated in low security facilities as women without those disabilities.

Recommendation No. 13
That the Department of Corrective Services ensures any new correctional facilities are designed and constructed to be fully accessible for people with a disability.

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Endnotes

94. DCS, above n 35, 17.
95. Queensland Department of Corrective Services Administrative Direction No. 03/04 (12/9/04).
96. Information provided by DCS to ADCQ WIP review on 8/10/04.
97. DCS Submission to Women in Prison Review, (14 December 2005) 2. 98. The ADQC has been advised that Baa’s Yard and Aurukun have recently ceased operations.
99. See 10.4 below for further discussion of mothers with dependent children.
100. This is a particular concern for Indigenous prisoners from remote locations. Indirect discrimination could be argued to be occurring by requiring such prisoners to be incarcerated so far from their homes and families. Such prisoners should be entitled to special measures (RDA s 8) or welfare measures (ADA s 104) to assist in dealing with this disadvantage.
101. DCS Submission to Women in Prison Review,(14 December 2005)
102. United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, at 8(a).
103. Ibid 63(2).
104. See ADA ss 7, 9–11, 46, 51, 83, 92, 101.
105. ADA s 4.

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