people who require a less restrictive environment and are able to participate in rehabilitation activities; and 5 beds in a Semi-Independent Living Unit for people preparing for discharge into the community. There is also a 3-bed de-escalation suite with three seclusion rooms, lounge and courtyard (not counted as part of bed-numbers). The design of the Centre provides flexibility to accommodate more vulnerable people. Medium security Located outside the perimeter of the maximum security prison, the Ron Barwick Medium Security Prison contained thirty six cells and an indoor recreation area. This facility operated an incentive for inmates of the maximum security prison to strive to achieve a medium security classification in order that they may be transferred to the better conditions in the Ron Barwick Prison. The facility has opened and closed on several occasions since it first opened in 1974. The facility was demolished in 2004 to make way for the new prison. In 2006, the old H.M. Risdon Prison was renamed as Ron Barwick Minimum Security prison, even though is it classified as a medium security environment. Medium security inmates are housed in units of either 6 or 8 beds. Each unit has individual bedrooms, along with a two-bed 'buddy' room, and common lounge, dining, toilet and shower facilities. Inmates have access to a majority of the outdoor grounds in the medium security part of the complex. Inquiries into facilities In 1999, a Tasmanian Parliament Committee reported that the number of cells far exceeded any likely requirements at the time of construction or since. The Committee reported that the Corrective Services Division advised that between 1992 and 1997 the entire prison system had an average of between a total of 250 and 300 inmates spread through all the facilities. The Committee reported that the facility is "fundamentally inappropriate": It operates as a series of cages and cells which open to exposed yards. It is devoid of any of the normal features of a dwelling or residential facility. The only institution in our society with which this facility could be closely compared is a zoo. It would be difficult to design an institution which would be more calculated to promote an alienated sub-culture, entirely inconsistent with desirable normal social behaviour and values. A 2001 report by the Tasmanian Ombudsman stated: No prison is a pleasant place, but the Risdon Prison is a particularly unpleasant place. It is bleak, cold and