NSW: Prison violence in NSW on the rise -Oppn

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NSW: Prison violence in NSW on the rise -Oppn

SYDNEY, Aug 13 AAP - Violence in NSW prisons had reached epidemic proportions withrecord numbers of inmates assaulting one another and prison officers, the state oppositionsaid today.

Opposition spokesman for corrective services Michael Richardson said the incidencesof inmates assaulting other inmates rose 92 per cent, from 751 to 1439, between 1995 and2001.

"Even more alarming is the fact that the number of assaults on officers by full-timeinmates increased by 32 per cent last year (from 253 in 2000 to 334 in 2001)," Mr Richardsonsaid.

The figures, obtained from the Assaults and Fights in NSW Correction Centres 2001 reportunder Freedom of Information, confirmed NSW had the worst prison assault rate of all Australianstates, he said.

Mr Richardson said the increasing violence was directly linked to the practice of lockinginmates into their cells for hours each day.

"A primary reason for these record levels of violence is the Carr Government's mismanagementof the prison system," Mr Richardson said.

"Failure to provide access to work and other programs is a major cause of unrest injails, yet the government persists with lockdowns to cut costs following the massive $12million blow out in overtime last year."

Constructive use of inmates in work programs, rather than cell lockdowns, would bebetter for inmates and the government, Mr Richardson told AAP.

"Riots, like the one at Goulburn earlier this year that left a prison officer seriouslyinjured, are very expensive to control," he said.

"A little more forethought and some constructive work for inmates could end up savingthe government money in the long run," he said.

Mr Richardson said Mulwala women's prison at Silverwater was the most violent facilityin NSW, followed by the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre.

Types of assaults listed in the report included striking, biting, throwing objects,pushing, sexual assaults and "AIDS related" incidents.

Comment was being sought from Corrective Services Minister Richard Amery.

AAP hn/arb/sdh/sb x

KEYWORD: PRISONS