Recommendations from Report into inadequate use of force reporting at Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison on 27 March 2017 and Bunbury Regional Prison on 14 November 2016 tabled on 27 June 2018.

The Commission recommends DoJ, Superintendents and the senior management teams at prisons:

• Support and regularly promote awareness of confidential mechanisms for staff to report potential criminal activity and misconduct concerning prison officers using force against prisoners.
• Update PDs to provide clarity on the independent review of use of force incidents by DoJ personnel outside of the prison facility where the incident occurred. The policy should include, but not be limited to: i
  • identifying a position that is responsible for the review process;
  • identifying who will conduct reviews;
  • establishing a framework for conducting reviews (including a mandatory requirement to review CCTV footage of the incident, where available);
  • providing mechanisms to convey the review results to designated Superintendents; and
  • outlining the designated Superintendent's responsibilities when they receive the review results.
• Conduct mandatory training for prison officers in relation to independent, accurate and factual reporting of use of force incidents that includes:
  • the use which can be made of a prison officer's reports in legal, administrative, disciplinary and prison offence proceedings;
  • the consequences of colluding, making false or inaccurate statements or omitting material matters; and
  • the interrelation between reporting on use of force incidents and an officer's duties and oath under the Prisons Act.
• Update PDs to provide clarity on who receives notifications about use of force incidents, what responsibilities must be discharged and how DoJ records the notification process.
• Update, monitor and audit systems (including TOMS), processes and physical spaces to reduce the opportunity for prison officers to collude about their IDRs or otherwise view or copy the IDRs of others.
• Provide an appropriate physical environment for staff to prepare their IDRs in independently of each other.