WA jail proposal 'a failure' in the UK

A key recommendation stemming from an independent review of Western Australia's prison system is an expensive, cumbersome and complicated proposal that was a "complete failure" in Britain, says the prison officers union.

The Economic Regulation Authority found the prison system is not working as well as it could and recommended ensuring consistent standards across all facilities.

It says WA's two privately managed jails are operating well because they are held to standards of accountability and transparency that should also apply to public prisons.

This would primarily be achieved through service level agreements, the ERA said.

It also called for a new commissioning division within the Department of Corrective Services, which would invite public, private and not-for-profit providers - or a combination - to tender for the right to provide services.

This would create the strongest competitive tension by increasing the choice of service providers available to the department, but it also would require the establishment of an independent probity auditor.

The WA Prison Officers' Union swiftly rejected the proposal.

"This commissioning model has been implemented in the UK and has been a complete failure," secretary John Welch said.

"It hasn't provided improved quality of services and, following its introduction, there was a 54 per cent increase in assaults on staff over a two-year period and a 67 per cent increase in prisoner suicides over 12 months.

"We believe the introduction of the commissioning model has led to a race to the bottom in terms of cost, which resulted in less staff, increased safety risks and experienced officers leaving the system because of reduced wages."

The final report is due in November.