Question On Notice No. 6315 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 25 June 2020 by Mr S.K. L'estrange
Question Directed to the: Minister for Emergency Services; Corrective Services
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Question
I refer to illicit drug tests in WA Prisons, and I ask:
(a) Has the number of positive results decreased since the suspension of social visits due to COVID-19?
Answered on 12 August 2020
There has been a reduction in the number of recorded positive drug tests since the suspension of social visits due to COVID-19 which occurred on 23 March 2020. The Department of Justice (Corrective Services) have conducted two Drug Prevalence Testing (DPT) events since the suspension of social visits. DPT events occur four times a year and tests a percentage of prisoners and young people in custody across the custodial estate to determine the prevalence of drug use over a predetermined period of time.
An event was conducted on 11 May 2020 which resulted in 9 positive indications for drug use. Another event was conducted on 15 June 2020, and whilst the results are not final (at 6 July 2020) current results indicate 15 positive indications for drug use.
The results for the last quarterly DPT event to occur prior to the suspension of social visits was on 5 February 2020 which returned 35 positive indications for drug use.