Minimum security wing unused for a decade despite prison overcrowding

A minimum-security wing at one of Western Australia's newest prisons has remained unused for a decade, despite inmates in other sections of the jail allegedly sleeping on the floor because of overcrowding.Unit 5 is a minimum security facility located outside the secure perimeter fence at Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, about 600km east of Perth.The $232 million prison opened 10 years ago this month and was described at the time as the "jewel in the crown in the WA prison estate" by then-corrective services minister Joe Francis.The entrance to Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison. (ABC Goldfields: Jarrod Lucas)But Unit 5 has never been used, which the Department of Justice attributed to "staffing issues".It is the latest saga in the state's under-fire corrections system after the ABC this month revealed prisoners were receiving financial compensation to sleep on the floor in overcrowded jails.Inmates 'sleeping on floor'WA Prison Officers' Union secretary Andy Smith said Unit 5 has nearly 100 beds and claimed some prisoners at the Boulder jail are sleeping on mattresses on the floor due to overcrowding, a claim the department denies."There are prisoners on the floor in Kalgoorlie … at this point in time, it's probably around 20, but that's 20 too many," he said.WA Prison Officers' Union secretary Andy Smith says there is a shortage of prison officers across the state. (ABC News)"Unit 5 was purpose-built for community work, so that prisoners could be external to the fences and put back into the community."They've never been able to staff the prison sufficiently enough to open it, and in fact, the prison runs short of staff on a daily basis."He said the state was short of 1,200 prison officers in total.The department blames staffing woes for the unit being unused. (ABC News: Cason Ho)The department said the prison housed 330 inmates as of Tuesday, below its capacity of 367.It denied any prisoners were sleeping on the floor but did not provide staffing numbers, which the union claims are dangerously low.When the prison was built, the department signed a 25-year maintenance contract with contractor Honeywell.A prison officer secures a cell door at Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison. (ABC Goldfields: Jarrod Lucas)"It means the government pays for the upkeep of that unit, so for the last 10 years, the department has been paying the contractor to maintain Unit 5, even though there has never been a prisoner in there," Mr Smith said."There is an allowance for repainting it, replacing equipment like beds and mattresses et cetera, and it's never been touched, so the upkeep on that portion of the prison is huge and it's never been used."Inspection report dueThe Inspector of Custodial Services was due to conduct an inspection of Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison in May, but its findings are yet to be presented to parliament.Its 2023 inspection found the prison was staffed for 310 prisoners, with 18 out of 111 prison officer positions vacant."Resolving the staffing issues could mean up to 100 beds would be available to be brought online to relieve population pressure on the adult male estate," the 2023 audit found."One of the key elements of the staffing issue is retention rather than recruitment."To help boost staffing, the department said eligible prison officers and their dependents were being offered free rent and significant mortgage assistance.