Australia: Queensland government accepts prison overhaul after scathing report

The Queensland government has agreed to support 33 recommendations from a scathing report that found the state’s prison system was rife with overcrowding and corruption.

The Crime and Corruption Commission handed down its Taskforce Flaxton report last December highlighting excessive use of force, misuse of authority, inappropriate relationships and contraband.

Minister for Corrective Services Mark Ryan said on Friday the government had given full or in-principle support to recommendations such as better guard training, more security and body-worn cameras, an overhaul of culture and anti-corruption policies, and reducing over-crowding.

“The taskforce observed that Queensland’s hybrid prison system, with its mix of public and private operational responsibility, was not optimal,” he said.

“To address this risk, the Government has committed $111.4 million over five years from 2018-19 to transition Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre and Southern Queensland Correctional Centre to public operation.”

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