Full House: the Growth of the Inmate Population in NSW

Background

The growth of the prison population and overcrowding in correctional centres attracted political, public and media comment throughout 2014. We examined the impact of overcrowding on inmates and staff for three key areas:

• Security and safety
• Health and wellbeing
• Resources and services

Where we inspected

We inspected three Sydney correctional centres. In July 2014 these centres were operating between 4.5% and 71% over their designed capacity.

• Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre - the largest centre in NSW which receives over 40 percent of all new receptions to the correctional system
• Parklea Correctional Centre - the second largest centre in NSW and privately operated
• Metropolitan Special Programs Centre Area 2 - accommodates a variety of inmate groups and offers a range of therapeutic programs

Recommendations

The Inspector makes 47 recommendations. These include systemic and facility specific improvements in:

• Corrective Services NSW classification system
• Management of remand inmates
• Future estate planning
• Collaboration between Justice Health & Forensic Mental Health Network and Corrective Services

Report

The Full House: the Growth of the Inmate Population in NSW Report was tabled in parliament and published in April 2015.

Full House: the Growth of the Inmate Population in NSW Report (PDF, 963.6 KB)

Media release

Reponses

Corrective Services NSW response to Full House: the Growth of the Inmate Population in NSW Report (PDF, 251.1 KB)

Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network response to Full House: the Growth of the Inmate Population in NSW Report (PDF, 298.6 KB)