Brisbane women's prison most overcrowded in Queensland, assaults, self-harm up, report finds.

By Nick Wiggins

Queensland’s Corrective Services Minister is “comfortable” with female prisoners sleeping on mattresses on the floors of cells, despite a report raising serious concerns about overcrowding.

A new report by the Queensland Ombudsman has found the problem of overcrowding in Brisbane’s Women’s Correctional Centre (BWCC) is getting worse.

It is now the state’s most overcrowded jail, holding 108 more inmates than it was built for.

Women are routinely forced to share one person cells in a practice known as “doubling up”, where one prisoner is forced to sleep on a mattress on the floor, her head near a toilet.

Queensland Ombudsman Phil Clarke said he warned the department about overcrowding in 2013, but the problem has become worse.

His report, tabled on Tuesday, revealed the number of prisoner-on-prisoner assaults more than doubled between 2012 and 2015, while the number of self-harm incidents has steadily increased between 2012 and 2016.

“In my view, QCS [Queensland Corrective Services] has failed to provide adequate living conditions for prisoners at BWCC,” he said in his report.

The report also details the complaints of two pregnant prisoners who were “required” to sleep on the floor.

“In one case, a prisoner was sleeping on a mattress on the floor of a doubled-up cell while she was pregnant and then immediately following her return from hospital after suffering a miscarriage,” the report reads.

Corrective Services Minister Bill Byrne said prisoners were well accommodated and well fed.

“[They are] supervised and looked after in a fashion that Queenslanders would expect,” he said.

“I am comfortable with the level of service provided to Queensland prisoners whether they’re pregnant or not.”

Following the press conference, Mr Byrne’s department released a statement claiming its policy changed in 2013.

“Pregnant prisoners are not compelled to share a cell if they don’t wish to,” the statement said.

“However, decisions about their accommodation arrangements do take into account their individual wishes, and their best interests.”

Mr Byrne on Tuesday announced $1 million in funding for a program to help female prisoners reintegrate into the community after they are released from prison.

However, Corrective Services Commissioner Dr Mark Rallings questioned in the Ombudsman’s report whether more programs should be rolled out at the BWCC.

“It’s not much point, I think, strategically, bringing in a whole bunch more programs and services when the infrastructure is so much under pressure,” he said.

“Because we’re not going to be able to really deliver, have them delivered, very effectively and efficiently anyway.”

‘Time to provide first-world jails’

Opposition justice spokesman Ian Walker described Mr Byrne’s comments as “callous”.

“Annastacia Palaszczuk should condemn Bill Byrne for his comments or is she happy for women to be treated this way?” Mr Walker said.

Debbie Kilroy from women’s prisoner advocacy group Sisters Inside said the practice of doubling up was disgusting.

“It’s time for this government to step up and behave like we’re living in a first-world country,” Ms Kilroy said.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.

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