48121 (2024). Dr Tracey McLellan to the Minister of Corrections

48121 (2024). Dr Tracey McLellan to the Minister of Corrections: How many (number and percentage), if any, sentenced and remand prisoners do not have a case manager as of 31 July 2024 broken down by prison and offence type?

Hon Mark Mitchell: I am advised that Corrections acknowledges the importance of working with people from their arrival into prison to ensure their needs are addressed and their rehabilitation and reintegration is supported. Case Managers work directly with people in prison to assess their needs, identify specific areas of focus and ensure their time in prison is used to their benefit. While Corrections aims to allocate a Case Manager to people within ten working days of their arrival into prison, Corrections, like many other agencies and businesses, has experienced a number of staffing challenges in recent years. Corrections’ recruitment campaign is ongoing and I have been assured that hiring and training frontline staff, including Case Managers, who manage approximately 9,800 people in prison, will remain a top priority for Corrections. If people in prison do not have a Case Manager allocated to them, and one is required but unavailable, the query will instead be addressed by a Principal Case Manager. I am further advised that in addition to Case Managers, Corrections Officers meet with people in prison to discuss progress and issues in relation to their offender plan, assist them in achieving activities, and act as conduits between the prisoner and their Case Manager. I refer the member to the attached table, which provides the number of people in prison who did not have a Case Manager assigned to them, as at 31 July 2024, broken down by prison and most serious offence type. The figures in the attached table also include people who have been in prison for fewer than 10 days, and those that have previously had a Case Manager allocated to them, but do not have one allocated to them as at 31 July 2024.