A report into the Southern Queensland Correctional Centre has painted a bleak picture of the high-security women’s prison, including a failure to consider human rights.
The 146-page Inspector of Detention Services report released on Wednesday by the Queensland Ombudsman revealed a litany of problems at the Lockyer Valley centre in the areas of separate confinement and menstruation management.
Other areas identified for improvement included long waitlists for health services and programs; limited or no trauma-informed training for custodial staff; having a majority male staff and a lack of First Nations staff; and the provision of unwearable clothes.
The inspection, required once every five years under the Inspector of Detention Services Act 2022 (Qld), was conducted between 28 November and 1 December 2023, when the 302-cell facility held 289 prisoners.
The report made 37 recommendations. Read it here.
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