Fuller prisons trigger funding boost

GROWTH in prisoner numbers has forced the Government to add $4 million to the Tasmanian Prison Service annual budget.

The Mercury reported in March the Ron Barwick minimum security prison was at 90 per cent capacity, Risdon’s medium and maximum security prisons were at 93 per cent and told Parliament the snorkels would improve the safety of firefighters and the community in “increasingly complex urban environments”.

A mental and physical wellness program for emergency workers will receive $1.5 million over four years for posttraumatic stress disorder, stress and anxiety.

Police Association of Tasmania acting president Gavin Cashion said the Budget appeared “largely positive”. Mary Hutchinson Women’s Prison at 89 per cent.

Ron Barwick will receive a $3 million upgrade in the next two years, with 40 new cells and infrastructure upgrades.

Construction of four independent accommodation units in the O’Hara pre-release facility will be funded with $1.5 million from 2018-19. More beds and a mother and baby unit in the women’s prison are scheduled in 2019-20. Acting attorney-general Matthew Groom said extra funding was to “cater for more prisoners as a result of our efforts to keep the community safe”.

Plans to phase out suspended sentences will receive $2.4 million a year.