Hundreds kept in Queensland jails because of housing crisis
Justice advocates say the housing crisis is keeping Queensland prisoners locked up with a third of parole applications denied because they have nowhere to live.
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Justice advocates say the housing crisis is keeping Queensland prisoners locked up with a third of parole applications denied because they have nowhere to live.
Death in Custody Watch Group Far North spokeswoman Sue Barstow claims two inmates at Lotus Glen attempted suicide after being knocked back at the end of last year because they did not have “suitable housing accommodation”.
She says the housing crisis has caused overcrowding which is contributing to a mental health crisis and assaults at the facility 25km south of Mareeba.
“This has a disproportionate impact on Indigenous people who often live in housing where they can have 8-12 family members, at least one of whom will be on parole,” Ms Barstow said.
“More and more people are being kept in jail only because they cannot show they have somewhere to live – and they just start to lose hope.”
Ms Barstow, whose grandson is an inmate at the facility, said with the shortage in private and social housing, the Parole Board would not release someone if they do not have somewhere to live.
The 82-year-old claims overcrowding had led to more sexual assaults in Queensland prisons.
“My grandson stepped in three times to stop people being raped in the last year, that includes one man trying to rape another holding a knife,” Ms Barstow said.
Ms Barstow said often parole was denied because the prisoner put down an address where someone else on parole was living, which was not permitted under department rules.
A source within the Department of Probation and Parole added a third of parole applications were being denied because the applicant was unable to show they have suitable accommodation.
The proportion of prisoners who identify as First Nations at Lotus Glen has risen from 71.7 per cent in 2019-20 to 73 per cent as of February 2024.
It is a Closing The Gap target to reduce First Nations incarceration by 15 per cent by 2031. Nationally, the age-standardised rate of Indigenous people in prisons increased from 2022 to 2023.
A legal insider who asked to remain anonymous claimed an “increasing number of people are being held in prison because of the housing crisis”.
“The parole board has become too risk adverse, this leads to overcrowding which leads to more assaults and overstretched mental health services, with focus mainly on risk assessments not treatment,” she said.
The lawyer said people were often being kept in prison if they were from remote Indigenous communities if “they are unable to show there are adequate services in their town”.
Lotus Glen has about 944 prisoners. With a capacity of 732 it has been over capacity every month for the last eight years, publicly available data shows.
Since 2012, Queensland’s prisoner numbers have risen steadily each year from 5537 to 9589 in the 2022-23.
Across the state there are 10,800 prisoners in Queensland jails living in 7546 cells.
Arthur Gorrie has 1461 prisoners, 1002 “built beds” and 890 cells and is at 164 per cent capacity, forcing hundreds of inmates to “double up” in cells and sleep on mattresses on the floor.
Wolston jail is at 153 per cent capacity, while Woodford is at 150 per cent capacity with 1519 prisoners living out of 1008 cells.
Townsville Men’s is at 159 per cent.
Lotus Glen was originally built to have one person to each cell, but since Queensland’s imprisonment rate started to increase around 10 years ago, the government responded by putting bunk beds to double up in each cells.
In a statement, Queensland Corrective Services said: “Community safety is paramount when the Parole Board Queensland considers the suitability of accommodation for a person’s release to parole; they would not be paroled to accommodation that poses an unacceptable risk to the community.
“We work closely with re-entry and housing services to help paroled prisoners reintegrate back into society with a strong focus on community safety.
“Prison operations are highly dynamic and prisoner numbers fluctuate daily in response to a range of factors, but our operational model allows flexibility to respond accordingly as needed.
“There are currently more built beds than prisoners at Lotus Glen Correctional Centre with 965 prisoners and more than 1000 beds as of April 26, 2024.”
WHERE TO GET HELP
Lifeline: 13 11 14 or www.lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 or www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au
Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 or www.kidshelpline.com.au
MensLine Australia: 1300 78 99 78 or www.mensline.org.au
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