FINES for visitors caught smuggling contraband into Western Australian prisons are set to increase up to six times under proposed new laws.
Currently, a visitor can be fined $2000 but that will jump to $12,000. Jail terms of up to 18 months will stay the same.
Other suggested changes include raising fines from $1000 to $6000 and 12 months jail for people who refuse to be searched, as well as for those loitering around a prison and giving false information to enter a prison.
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READ NOWThe current penalties have not been updated for nearly 40 years.
Corrective Services Minister Francis Logan is hopeful the substantial increases will deter people from breaking the law.
“I hope the message is getting through to those that seek to do the wrong thing in our jails or when visiting them, that this government has zero-tolerance and is doing everything that it can to stop them,” he said.
The new changes are part of the Prisons Amendment Bill 2019, which will go before state parliament this week.
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