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Media Release:

Issued: 29 November 2004.

Prison investigation welcomed...

The recent announcement by the Minister for Justice of an investigation into the provision of custodial services and facilities in the Kimberley Region has been welcomed by the Diocesan Office of Justice, Ecology & Peace in Broome.

The Coordinator of the Office, Br Shane Wood said that this was long overdue.

"It is pleasing to note that this is going to involve not only professional people in the justice system, like Professor Harding, but also local people who have a vested interest in the provision of more adequate and culturally appropriate facilities and processes for those who get caught up in the justice system," Br Wood said."We know of course that by far the largest group represented in the justice system are indigenous people. This in itself is a cause for concern and needs to be a part of some further investigation. It is one thing to be instigating this Task Force under the banner of law and order and keeping the community safe.

This is a politically expedient thing to be raising just prior to an election. It is another to be proactive in the broader community to try to prevent so many of these people ever coming into the justice system in the first place.

"Much of the overcrowding in the Broome Prison is caused not just by inadequate facilities, but by the incarceration of people who should never be there in the first place - minor offenders and fine defaulters. These matters need to be addressed as well."

This Office endorses the work of the Task Force, but hopes that more will also be done to address the concerns raised by the Deaths in Custody Enquiry and by the over representation of Aboriginal people in the justice system," Br Wood concluded.

CONTACT: Br Shane Wood Ph 08 9192 1060 Fx 08 9192 2136

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