Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) The chief
executive officer may, and upon the request of the Minister shall, appoint by
instrument in writing signed by him any superintendent or other suitably
qualified person (in this section referred to as a reporting officer) to
inquire into and report to him upon any matter, incident or occurrence
concerning the security or good order of a prison, or concerning a prisoner or
prisoners.
(2) For the purposes
of carrying out an inquiry under this section, a reporting officer may require
any officer or prisoner —
(a) to
give him such information as he requires;
(b) to
answer any question put to him,
in relation to any
matter, incident or occurrence that is the subject of the inquiry.
(3) A requirement made
under subsection (2) —
(a) may
be made orally or by notice in writing served on the person required to give
information or answer a question as the case may be;
(b) may,
by its terms, require that the information or answer
required —
(i)
be given orally or in writing;
(ii)
be given on oath, affirmation, or by statutory
declaration, for which purpose the reporting officer may administer an oath or
affirmation and may witness a statutory declaration.
(4) Where a person is
required under this Act to give any information or answer any question, he
shall not refuse to comply with that requirement on the ground that the
information or answer may tend to incriminate him or render him liable to any
penalty, but the information or answer given by him shall not be admissible in
evidence in any proceedings against him (including proceedings under
Part X) other than proceedings under section 10(1) or 10(2).
(5) Before a reporting
officer requests a person to give information or asks a person a question for
the purposes of an inquiry the reporting officer must advise the
person —
(a) that
the person does not have to give the information or answer the question unless
the reporting officer requires the person to do so; and
(b) that
if the person gives the information or answers the question on the request of
the reporting officer but without having been required by the reporting
officer to do so, the information or answer may be admissible in evidence
against the person in any proceedings; and
(c) of
the effect of giving the information or answering the question in response to
a requirement of the reporting officer to do so, as mentioned in
subsection (4); and
(d) of
the offences and the penalty as mentioned in section 10(1) or (2), as the
case requires.
(6) A requirement of a
reporting officer to give information or answer a question for the purposes of
an inquiry must be clearly distinguishable from a request to give the
information or answer the question.
[Section 9 amended by No. 47 of 1987
s. 11; No. 113 of 1987 s. 32; No. 43 of 1999 s. 8;
No. 74 of 2003 s. 94(2) and (3); No. 24 of 2005 s. 63.]