144: Inspection of Pardelup Prison Farm

Pardelup is a minimum-security prison for male prisoners, with a focus on preparing them to re-enter the community. As a working farm, Pardelup breeds cattle and sheep, and produces fruit and vegetables for consumption by the prison population in Western Australia. Pardelup also operates a work camp near the town of Walpole. Pardelup is located …

Farm productivity was limited by lack of resources and investment. The lack of staff coverage on weekends exposed Pardelup and the Department to risks, particularly around animal welfare. We continue to argue that it makes good business sense to allow Pardelup to reinvest in the farm and gardens, enabling a more efficient and productive operation. …

Pardelup Prison Farm has maintained its past positive performance and continued to offer constructive and rewarding rehabilitation opportunities for prisoners. We saw many examples of effective rehabilitation and reintegration services being offered to men approaching their release date. The prison and work camp must continue to be supported in being able to provide such unique …

Recommendation 1 Pardelup should be permitted to retain a proportion of its farm and market gardens revenues for reinvestment. Recommendation 2 Provide sufficient staff resources to allow seven-day operation of the farm and market gardens and to cover leave periods. Recommendation 3 Suspensions or stand-downs of staff should either be resolved promptly or cover should …