Corrections system
Matthew BACH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:20): (269) I have got another question for Minister Erdogan, this time in his capacity as Minister for Corrections. Minister, are all new prisoners received at prisons in Victoria subjected to a pat-down-style body search?
Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (12:20): I thank the member for his question and his interest in my corrections portfolio. What I will say is that there are a range of processes for intake of new prisoners into our correctional facilities. These are operational matters handled by experts on the front line, so I want to give a shout-out and recognise the amazing work and thank all the people on our corrections staff that do this work. It is a very challenging job, but they do it knowing that they are making a difference to all Victorians, keeping us all safe and also caring for those in their custody.
In terms of the practices in place, there are a range of processes in place in terms of their training, whether that be – your description – obviously pat-downs or whether that be the use of technology at a range of facilities. I know at Dame Phyllis Frost, for example, we have reduced the need for pat-downs because we have implemented state-of-the-art technologies meaning that the women there are not subjected to that behaviour, because we know it can be very traumatising to enter a corrections facility and that process can retraumatise some of those women that have already had difficult lives in the first place. So there are a range of tools at the disposal of the very qualified, hardworking, dedicated staff.
Matthew BACH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:21): I thank the minister for his response. On some of those other tools, reports suggest that pat-down searches of detainees have been replaced by X-ray scanning machines in at least one prison facility but that staff have not been sufficiently trained to operate the machines. Minister, can you guarantee that all operators have completed accredited training and are fully qualified to operate these machines?
Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (12:22): I thank Dr Bach for his supplementary question in relation to procedures for people’s intake into our corrections facilities. As I stated, there are implemented a range of technologies. There is training available for staff. People take quite detailed training actually in the use of these new technologies in place, and in relation to how they are implemented and how they are used, I will leave that to the experts, but it is my expectation that they use the appropriate tools at their disposal depending on the situation.