THE number of recorded offences committed by inmates at Ararat’s Hopkins Correctional Centre has risen dramatically in the past four years.
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Crime Statistics Agency data recorded 58 offences in 2014 compared to 236 in 2018.
Shadow Corrections Minister Edward O’Donohue blamed the rising offence numbers on an increase of remand prisoners at the facility.
Mr O’Donohue’s statements follow Member for Ripon Louise Staley’s criticism of the Andrews government in May for soaring offence rates in prisons.
However, Corrections Minister Gayle Tierney said increased staff and beds in the prison system had helped combat offences.
“Our investment in more staff and more searches has seen the rate of offences in our prison system trend down since 2014,” she said.
“The reality is the previous Liberal Government left our state with crumbling, overcrowded prisons which made the system less safe for prisoners and staff.
“We’re fixing the mess they left behind. We’ve opened nearly 2000 new beds — with more than 1270 more beds to come — and added more than 520 prison staff.”
Corrections Victoria data showed there were 1426 remand prisoners in Victoria in 2014, and 2899 in 2018.
Mr O’Donohue said these prisons were not designed to house the remand population, who had different needs to sentenced prisoners.
He said the introduction of “volatile” remand prisoners, who he said were often in heightened emotional states, facing uncertain futures and could sometimes be drug affected, had changed the prison dynamic and put long-term “settled” prisoners and prison staff at risk.
“Following the Metropolitan Remand Centre prison riot, maximum security prisoners were held at Hopkins and a large remand prisoner cohort was introduced, creating a more volatile and dangerous environment,” Mr O’Donohue said.
“A return to a more settled sentenced cohort will enable Corrections Victoria to focus on addressing the skyrocketing recidivism Victoria has seen under Daniel Andrews, while also tackling the crime and violence behind bars."
A spokesperson for Corrections Victoria also pointed to the increased number of remand prisoners as a factor in the offence numbers, alongside the increased overall population of Hopkins Correctional Centre following its expansion.
The Andrews government expanded the facility in 2015, almost doubling the size of the facility to be able to accommodate more than 700 prisoners.
“An increase in offences recorded at Hopkins Correctional Centre in recent years is largely linked to growing prisoner numbers, with the population having roughly doubled since 2010 due to the addition of new beds and particularly significant growth following expansion works completed in 2015,” the spokesperson said.
“This growth has also seen a changing and increasingly complex prisoner cohort, including a greater proportion of drug users and a larger remand population who are not as settled as sentenced prisoners.
“Staff at Hopkins Corrections Centre work tirelessly to detect and address illegal activity, and employ a range of tactics including detailed risk analysis, drug testing, contraband detection methods and use of equipment such as capsicum spray, CCTV and body-worn cameras.”