Introduction Hello World. I like to speak in those terms because the world to me is Universal even though I am addressing a group of people. Why do I think like that? Because I believe one person in the community leading by example can change the whole community and it can flow on to the state, the country and out to the World reaching way up into the Universe the highest power.
My name is Gregory Kable. I am a caseworker; receptionist and I run a website called Greg's Kables. When Frances contacted me to do this lecture I was thinking that I did not have this experience but in fact that is what I do second best in terms of my work at Justice Action.
I said second best because listening to people is what I do best and that is where I pick up lots of ideas. Justice Action is a community-based criminal justice organization consisting of academics, lawyers, students, prisoners, ex-prisoners, victims of crime and other community activists.
Justice Action promotes awareness of the inadequacies and failures of the criminal justice system and actively assists those who suffer.
We maintain ongoing communication with prisoners and monitor their complaints. These communications form the basis of our campaigns to prevent abuses from occurring. When clients ring I offer some good advice if I can, but that depends on their demeanor. If they appear despondent sometimes all I do is listen and take notes.
In New South Wales today if you get into trouble with the law you have little or no defence. Unless you're wealthy enough to get yourself a lawyer and even then the odds you will escape justice are minimal, because of the infrastructure and resource of the government, opposed to your Legal Aid Status. I am not saying Legal Aid cannot help you but I am saying they have become overworked and under resourced.
I know of many cases, where on the day of your trial your lawyer struts up to you and says quietly in court, "what's your name again?" You tell your lawyer your name and watch him/her go back to the bar table where there is a stack of files on top of each other and the lawyer starts to search through looking for your file.
Well that does not give me much confidents in a fair trial and nor should anyone else who has to face, not just unequal legal assistance, but the media as well.
Like dogs the media are looking for a story and someone to exploit for the politics of media is sensationalism. So if my clients have tension I try to shift them back a gear or two. I remind them of the inequality of being in trouble and how dangerous that is, so next time or during the course of this event the problem does not get any worse or is minimised in the future.
That is where Noble Cause Corruption comes in. Noble Cause Corruption was an idea introduced by the government and a few loose monkeys in the police force. I use the term monkeys because of Monkey See Monkey Do.
If police are above the law then so are their family and friends and that is the flaw. Sooner or later because they are autonomous they pick up bad habits and use their resources to help out those they like and associate with.
In 2000 police warlords were working in the suburbs of Sydney un-supervised and Cabramatta was the example.
Noble Cause Corruption casts a wide net to catch criminals. So if you did commit a crime it was 5 times worse and instead of one charge there were 20 charges. But if you didn't commit a crime and it wasn't your lot then bad enough you make your own mistakes, let alone gaining a few more problems in your life, just trying to survive.
Justice Action encourages diversion away from prisons because prisons are a space station in terms of the resources of the whole community. Everything obtainable in a space station is multiplied by ten in terms of getting it, or developing it whatever that may be.
Childhood
As a child I suffered from hives because I was allergic to every food and could only eat small portions of everything. Try and eat a small portion of chocolate cake when your siblings get a large piece. So I would sneak out to the fridge at night and get my share whilst everyone was sleeping. My mother would get up in the morning and notice the cake was gone. She would come into my room where I slept with my other two brothers and ask who was eating the cake last night? I couldn't lie because I was covered in hives. You're gonna need an ocean of Calamine Lotion. Hive medicine.
So my concentration for learning was very limited because I was a high-risk child. Math's, Science, and subjects that need a lot of concentration were not going to get through to me. Art, Craft, Cooking, Music and Dressing up were more suitable because I could get away with being creative without to much concentration.
1) I also had predisposing factors in that I did not know whom my father was and was subsequently raised by my stepfather and mother who didn't tell me about my real father.
2) I was belted into submission for making mistakes a form of discipline, which I will go into a little later.
3) And later lost my first child born 500g who lived for just 7 months and died in a humidity crib in Camperdown Children's Hospital his name was Ben.
Solving problems holistically
I learnt to solve problems later in life by searching for the root of the problem I was trying to solve.
An example is if you look at homophobia. People who have trouble with gays. If you set out a policy to prevent this from happening and you get dressed up and go to a gay nightclub then perhaps as it has been for me that I was refused entry because I wasn't gay. Discriminatory? Well I think so because I like dressing up and I like dancing and I was disappointed because I was refused entry even though I don't discriminate and was not in any way homophobic.
So what is the answer holistically? Peoplephobia. Why? Because we are all people first.
I would watch children throwing rocks at the mentally ill behind the wire in the suburbs because they lacked knowledge and understanding about mental illness and that is why they were ignorant towards the mentally ill. It's lack of knowledge that leads to ignorance.
Peoplephobic people lack knowledge, understanding and social skills, in order to relate to the whole community. Gender is another example. If you try solving problems by categorising and labeling people in order to solve a problem then you again get bogged down because of the variety of gender. Male, female, gay, bisexual, lesbian, transvestite, etc.
It is my understanding, that we my friends, are human beings first and to add to that unique individuals. We can be understood with some knowledge and understanding so that we fit into the community and are all accepted by the community.
So as a human being first. What is the problem and can we solve it? In short we are all in the same boat, if you want to see it that way. John Howard would not decide to drop a bomb on people to fix a problem if the bomb was dropping onto his family.
If Bob Carr's family had to live in the High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn Correctional Centre "a box within a box" because someone in his family ended up being taken away from the community and placed into prison then the HRMU would not exist today.
The brutality and savagery at Grafton jail that went on for 34 years with people getting their legs and arms broken running the gauntlet through a line of prison guards with batons. Some of those prisoners who were sent to jail for non-violence and punished went on to commit some of the most heinous crimes of the century.
Close your eyes. What do you see? Nothing? So without you there is no beauty.
So I am special to me! And Everyone Else is Equal to me! So next time you think about your, self-worth? Go on! Tell your friend. Say, you're nearly as good-looking as I am because I am special to me. But everyone else is equal to me.
A human being is made up of a percentage of both male and female gender in different ratios. That is how it all becomes so coloured when you try to relate to people from all walks of life.
Plato said, "A human being is two people trying to get together as one."
An example of the root of a human being is empathy.
A group of people can form a circle. Each person placing their hand on the others chest over the heart of the person next to them. By closing your eyes for about a minute and feeling your friends heart beating.... that can give you a clear understanding about the fact that we are the same. Please try this in your own time if you have never tried it before.
Another example is the root of conscience. Where is that found? My original understanding was that conscience was born when our mothers smacked us usually about the time we were in our high chair, getting bored watching mum do the dishes, and by throwing our baby's bottle onto the floor for attention. Smack! Ouch.
But I've since learned that conscience is born when as a baby we first opened our eyes. This is a better thought because there is no threat, or violence imposed in order to form our view.
Parent Effectiveness Training by Thomas Gordon PHD
A child standing alone has one major defence. Fear. So if you raise your voice one-decibel then the child triggers that defence in order to cope with the stress. So too is this defence triggered if you lock a child up in their room or take away the child's privileges?
Justice Alistair Nicholson of the Family Court of Australia recently as last year made a statement in relation to children he said, "Smacking a child ought to be seen as assault."
I agree for many reasons. One reason is Pavlov's Theory of Classical Conditioning. If you show a dog food then over time the dog can be conditioned to salivate over the food. So if you get attention by smacking a child then you get a result of obedience?
Questionable? Because although this does and can work it is flawed. Why? Lets look at why governments or parents threaten and punish first.
If you do not pay this fine we will summons you to court. If you don't pay this fine we will increase the fine. If you still don't pay the fine we will not give you a license to drive. If you still don't pay this fine we will prevent you from registering your motor vehicle. If you don't pay the fine we will send a sheriff out to collect the amount owed from your property.
In the past you went to jail. Jamie Partlick was a good example of what can happen to a fine defaulter in jail. He was bashed and ended up a paraplegic.
Today you don't go to jail for not paying a fine. Parents used this method as well by taking away children's privileges and locking children in their rooms for punishment at the lower end. And at the higher end, I can tell you how my three brothers and I were lined up when a rule of the house was broken. Our pants were pulled down and we were strapped on the bottom one strap at a time consecutively until one of us owned up to the crime.
Power
If a person raising a child uses power then there will be a time when the power becomes equal and that doesn't work any more. Usually about the time the child can leave home and has become equal in strength. The child won't be your friend because you were the judge and metered out punishment.
So how do we get a better response from the child in order to teach the child? To get a long term result in order to teach a child we need to invite the child from a very early age in the decision making process. So the child remains your friend always because the child does not feel judged by you. Both of you have more information about each other in order to decide how to relate, not just to you but to everyone else as well, once more information has been sought.
Usually if a child is asked how to solve a problem they are causing you or others they can usually tell you how they are going to go about it, with respect to you and therefore making a decision themselves. Hence the child is also more obligated to do what you have not ordered them to do and they don't then hate you because you have not judged them here.
Why then if this information is in the current literature do governments who can help set and example for parents and families teach us to threaten and punish people in order to get results that don't work in the long term? Is it because they need short-term results? Or because they don't have the current literature?
I don't mind being wrong I just need to see the literature that proves I am wrong. Until such time I think I am correct in that.
To get long-term results that lead to less inflation for the whole community then discipline, threats and punishment don't work long-term. Discipline, threats and punishment get short-term results and cause the cycle of violence.
Television
Television encourages violence as well. There are three stages in the myth of human life that are described in many forms as examples.
In short, from birth to death. Stage one the hero stage Between childhood and youth 0-20 and children are described as bullet proof. Stage two The understanding stage between 20 and 40 working through you understanding of life. Stage three Looking down and not particularly getting involved in nonsense that you have little or no regard for, looking down, hopefully impartially and objectively.
If you watch Rambo in the hero stage you could get into serious trouble as the young mind wonders into un-reality, virtual reality thinking it's real.
You may think you can conquer the world. You may think you can solve all or any problems that may arise in order to survive and maintain your ego and pride. It would be a pity though if you used threats or violence to solve your problems that are now compounded by programs on television that invite the possibility that you are bullet proof and you have unrealistic powers.
Here there is a difference between boys and girls because of stereotyping. Boys blue. Girl's pink. Boy's trains. Girl's dolls. Boys don't show emotions. Girls show emotions naturally.
Of course that depends on how you were raised. That is how I was raised. Not to show my female side. The percentage that made up my female side remained hidden and devalued up until the age of 35.
As well as that, boys that were raised like me lost social contact with a lot of people. Girls were cooperative because of their additional social skills and social networks helping them to relate better.
Boys were competitive and lost social networks or depended on few social networks in order to relate, in addition to the stereotyping and the bulletproof nature of children, youth, the government and parental malfunction. Teaching us that discipline, threats, and punishing a person works, in order to get a person to acknowledge their offending behavior.
Well that is where I made a major mistake. I was classically conditioned to discipline, threaten, and punish a person when threatened myself with a loss that was high in value and high in principal.
The statement there is one thing stronger than a women's heart. A man's-pride. Now you can see why gender became an issue here. Because people in my day were stereotyped categorised and labeled. Not treated equally as a human being.
I Could Be Wrong
That's fair in love and war because these are only my ideas as well as my experiences, knowledge and understanding.
That is where feedback, which is a life skill, can come in handy. The idea that a bat would be lost without it's sound bouncing off objects in order to navigate. Again if a person has the social skill of feedback just one of the skills then a person can learn to relate better with respect to the whole community. A person can only see themselves in two dimensions.
Feedback allows a person to see themselves in four dimensions. That is why the heading is called "I could be wrong" instead of "feedback" because what people feedback could be wrong.
However, what people say may have meaning. For example you have body odor. If you reject this information you may lose friends. If you accept that you stink in close contact with people, then if you do something about it you may make more friends.
Check it out first and that may give you more proof. The person may just not like you or your after-shave/ perfume? You may be putting too much on.
All the information given to me as feedback rests onto my shoulders, now, until such time as I can make some or any sense out of it.
Do you remember when you rejected criticism? And found out later what you had rejected was valid information you could use now, but at the time it didn't make any sense. Lucky then if you hung on to it so that it could be used later.
Parents and carers
Some parents and carers, if not all parents and carers are on the run trying to make ends meet and raising children. You are a unique individual so where is the book on how to raise you? There is a tug of war in relation to immediate results between parents and children, in the rush of life.
But parents do their best with the skills they have up until the time you are born and about to be raised. Why do parents and carers do their best? Because they have a responsibility to the child and the whole community looking down onto them and the community who is prepared to criticise you if you got it wrong.
An example is when a child falls from a cliff and a parent goes after the child to certain death. The emotional need outweighs the danger.
Again children in a swollen river or a fire attended to by a parent or carer who will go on after you and try to save you. Most parents have in built the need to protect the child from danger, because that is what parents do when a child is born. To make sure the child survives.
Your mother and father will always love you. It doesn't matter if you did not have the skills. It doesn't matter if you were a drunk. It doesn't matter if you were a junkie. It doesn't matter if you suffered a mental illness. It doesn't matter if you were disabled. It doesn't matter if you were discriminated against or marginalised. It doesn't matter if people don't forgive you for making your first mistake.
Trial and Error
We learn more from being wrong than we do from being right. Being right means being right all the time. Being wrong and right means being right in the end.
There is no book on how to raise your family. There are many books but your family is unique. There is no book on how you may deal with the loss of your marriage, your relationship, your home, and your children.
There are guides in books but you are, as I have said, unique. So what then makes up the balance between the guide's and the books and your reality in relating to life's secrets?
Charles Dickens said, "Life is a secret and you haven't got the key and you never will".
So you don't particularly know what lies in your future in order to survive. Also the skills you have are the resources you have to survive events that occur in your life. Some people don't get through it. Some people do. Some people have better results than others do.
So could better social skills help children grow? Inflation is reduced when people have skills because they take fewer risks and use fewer resources in order to achieve their goals.
What happens when you take more risks and use more resources in order to achieve your goals? You could break the law and end up in jail like 5% of the population. Or you could hurt or damage yourself or someone else.
The example or running to many sheep on a small portion of land means you have to replace the land more often. The inflation and the cost of running prisons for example 20 million to build one prison and $60 thousand dollars a year to house just one maximum security prisoner in a 500 cell prison multiply that by 500 comes to about 30 million dollars.
What could the community do with an extra 30 million dollars instead of one maximum-security prison? There are 32 prisons in New South Wales alone. Not all maximum thank the Univers. But I'm not going to quote any more statistics because I am a hopeless mathematician. In fact if I haven't got a calculator I would be doing my 12 times tables on my fingers.
When people don't make it and fall down because they are not infallible, then they may break their elbow. Or they may break their neck. It depends on the severity of the fall and the circumstances surrounding the fall.
I had a major fall when I was 32 years of age and committed manslaughter in a crisis situation over the custody of the children of my marriage Clarke aged 4 and Brooke aged just two years at the time.
I served 7 years in prison because at the time I suffered diminished responsibility. Another name for diminished responsibility is not enough social skills to cope with a crisis situation.
So at 32 years of age why was I not prepared to compromise with my wife over custody? Because I did not know what compromise was or how it worked.
Compromise is a social skill and I do know what it is now. Compromise is how you Win, Win. Of course without it you could Win Lose in relation to this event or be a real loser like me at the time of my crisis and Lose Lose.
The cost of this event (crisis) for me was killing a person and going to prison and losing my family for the rest of my life. Expensive? Especially for the deceased. The children's loss of their mother and now both parents.
These were social skills I did not have at age 32 and or ineffective ways of relating to people in the community at age 32. How could this be? After all I had been educated at school up until 15 years of age. My mother did not bash me into submission. So there was love in the family home as I grew up. So I searched for the truth in life from my cell in prison and I read philosophy like Herman Hess and I learnt will to power.
I will learn I said and I would learn what went wrong in my life. Hess seemed to be saying, 'When you're stuck between a rock and a hard place OMB pray and don't react. Hess never said it that way but that is how I interpreted what he had said in his book.
About this time I would usually brainstorm lots of social skills with the class but I guess if you wanted some homework you could do it yourself or with your family. Are there social skills you don't know about or have and understanding of? Communication, conflict resolution, compromise, empathy, forgiveness, to name just a few.
One question I was never asked myself in my whole life was, do I trust myself? Age 32? Boy I needed that.
Whilst in prison I wanted to see my children. An emotional need and a responsibility as a parent. Eventually the prison sent me to a psychologist because logistically if carers or parents don't want to bring children into prison to visit then they don't have to.
I complained I had an emotional need to see them. The psychologist had to try and appease me and he did. Mr Kable he said, "but you're the biological father and that should be enough for you to know that and that fact ought to give you some relief," he said. He was wrong because he upset me or I upset myself over him. I was angry and even more determined to see my children.
Well the next door I opened was the jail psychiatrist who offered me medication that I refused. So I would go down the gym and punch the bag to vent my frustration. The more frustration I had the more social skills I needed to cope with this sad reality.
Academic skills are good but so are life skills because here is a good example why we need skills in order to cope with life's difficulties and differences. The confines and restrictions of the jail and real human emotional need.
Not a pre-learned experience
So because of trial and error we can take it that human beings are not infallible. We could also declare once and for all that a human being is not dogmatic. In fact humans need to make a mistake in order to learn.
So why do we punish people for making their first mistake? If I said go down to the park, there is a jumbo jet ready for you, to take off. Please take Mr and Mrs Jones to the USA for a holiday?
You are a keen employee so you say that you will do, what I ask. But if you attempted this job you may have a great deal of trouble carrying it out, because you have no previous experience of flying a Jumbo Jet.
An example of why parents or carer's may not pass on social skills to their children could be because their carer's or parents may not have the skills to pass on. Or they may be young single mothers, drug addicted or disabled in some way. What does that mean?
It means you think you have the skills required to get you through life. But you do not have the skills in order to balance your life, so that you can relate to the rest of the community with respect, in order to socialise properly. Especially when life has tension or is complex and complicated.
Social Skills and Life Skills
If you do not have these skills then where do you get them? Let's say you don't have contact with peers and friends who may be able to pass them on. Let's say you have contact with peers and friends but they're too busy. That only leaves the school curriculum and they don't necessarily teach social skills or life skills at school in Australia.
On 11 July 2003 this month the State and territory education ministers say Federal Education Minister Brendan Nelson's heavy-handed threats to school funding will not assist their ambitious initiative to develop consistent school curriculums in key subjects.
The ministers have announced in-principle agreement to work together to produce similar educational outcomes in English, Maths, Science, and Civics and Citizenship and are meeting in Perth later today. In a joint statement, the eight ministers have described it as an historic agreement, which will give parents who move between states greater confidence when their children switch schools.
Okay I know what English, Maths and Science are but what are Civics and Citizenship? CIVICS AND CITIZENSHIP What is Civics and Citizenship Education? Civics and Citizenship Education focuses on what it means to be a citizen of Australia. NOT WHAT IT MEANS TO RESPECT A CITIZEN OF AUSTRALIA?
How our system of government works. HERE ARE THE RULES! How Australian democracy evolved, and how to take part in the public affairs of Australia. NOT HOW TO RELATE AND HOW TO RESOLVE CONFLICT.
Civics and Citizenship will be the first teaching program for 2003 developed as part of The Australian's resource program for schools. The program provides teachers and students the opportunity to examine and discuss a variety of issues relating to civics and citizenship, including:
The development of the ways in which Australians have been governed since 1788; The role and importance of the United Nations and the International Court of Justice; and Rights and freedoms of Australians compared to those of people from other countries.
John Howard "At least people in this country have a right to protest".
The Civics and Citizenship program provides a wide range of resource materials for teachers including multiple copies of a special 16-page, three-part series, daily class activities, a 48-page Teacher's Handbook with activities and student worksheet masters, and a collection of four wall posters.
The punishment: Is the 'crime'
Some youths and adults do not see their worth because they have had destructive feedback from their peers and are not aware of it consciously. Possessiveness is the result the person cannot let that other person dissolve out of their life until they beat them or killed them trying to get them to stay.
I spoke with Ken Marslew (Enough is Enough). I told him that the person who killed his son did not know how much Michael his son was worth because in turn, the person who killed his son did not know how much he was worth.
Three recent cases that are quite extraordinary pop into my mind.
(1), The children are committing crime at a younger age, 13.
(2) A mentally ill prisoner Scott Simpson on remand for
malicious assault who killed anther prisoner on his first day
when he was locked up in Silverwater Remand Prison. The
person he killed had been sent from a strict protection jail at
Junee to Silverwater during transition.
(3) Bilal Skafe who was sentenced to 55-years for gang rape.
Young Labour policy: "Adult prisoners should be de-socialised then re socialised. Young offenders do not need to be de socialized because they were not old enough."End.
Respect: you only get out what you have put in. What about Life Skills, Communication and Conflict Resolution. Evolution, perhaps some children and adults missed the whole or part of the course? I did, and so how surprised do you think I was when I realised my parents missed the course as well? Things like compromise, win, win, empathy, and love. Invisible energy and other skills like public speaking, how to relate, assuming, blaming, forgiveness, freedom and discrimination.
This is how I learned respect.
If you don't know what it is then how do you relate?
I ran into a friend he was about 60 years of age and I asked Egor a Russian Scientist. "Why do we learn and then die? " He said you have to pass it on. So Grasshopper, how do we plant this seed so that the bin (jail) is a school of life? A university to teach life skills. Instead of emptying out the rubbish in the bin, we turn out compost and fertiliser to promote growth. Nurturers.
How do we create unless we Nurture Nature. Like cradling a baby in your arms, the very same cradle swings below us cradling us, when we care for all living things, great and small, in our wonderful Universe!
I described an injustice to Barbara an elderly lady I met at a Justice Action meeting. I said, "This is not the Australian way ". Barbara said, "Well I think it is". I went numb thinking well I did not want to hear her negative conformation. I still wanted to believe, after all I have been through and all I have done, that there is an Australian way and that the majority was good.
We cannot defeat evil. We can only balance it hopefully, by the greater good. Why? Because people, (human beings) only learn from trial and error. By making a mistake. So do we punish everyone equally for his or her first error? No, we deal out just desert in relation to the severity of the crime and the enthusiasm of the crowd (the populist view) then we throw them in the bin.
Human beings are not dogmatic yet we take away their ability to learn after they make their first mistake.
I asked Mr Tze a Chinese Triad I use to play chess with in prison, I said "Mr Tze how do I defend myself?" He said, " Do not strike." Why? He said, " you will always underestimate your opponent."
"If you project anger you will always get angry people in your life."
"If you project happiness you will get happy people in your life."
"So don't scare just take two steps back."
I know too, that the cat always scratches back.
I met Jimmy Safwan doing 30 years because he was made an example of 30 years ago He carried an oozy into a bank but never fired a shot.
Jimmy told me this myth...
Once upon a time this little boy went walking up the cobblestone road where he met a man. The man said "Son go home and cut out your mothers heart and I will give you treasure." So the little boy went home and cut out his mother's heart and went racing up the road holding his mother's heart in his hand. The little boy slipped over grazing his knees on the cobblestones. Just then his mothers heart spoke to him saying, " don't worry son it will be alright."
Two symbols now dominate my wisdom now! The star and the heart. The stars are my brothers and sisters and the heart, my friends, is mercy. Mercy for them all....
Charles Dickens said, "Life is a secret and you haven't got the key and you never will".
But there are keys. For the rest of the keys or at least some more of them please see:
BUT THERE ARE KEYS
SO WHAT ABOUT A Life-Skills Course to help your students prepare for life?
By Gregory Kable 2002 posted 14 November 2003
No child should be left behind.
MANAGEMENT SKILLS PROGRAM
This evidence-based curricula and staff training provides troubled and underserved youth with, easy-to-understand, interactive, statistically proven life-management lessons, that have been shown by a five-year University of Miami study to motivate at-risk youth to become respectful, successful, productive individuals.
The Bensons guarantee ARISE interactive lessons will unlock the true potential of at-risk youth or your money back. ARISE is a nonprofit educational foundation established in 1986, by the husband and wife team of Susan and Edmund F. Benson. To
date, the ARISE group has researched, written, and taught all curricula.
They have also trained and certified over 3,000 life-skills instructors who have gone on to teach more than 500,000 at-risk youth over 2,000,000 (Two Million) documented hours of ARISE Life-Management Skills Lessons across the U.S. no other lifeskills program even comes close.
The ARISE professional lifeskills training course can reduce staff turnover, lessen staff stress, improve staff communication skills, reduce liability exposure, and most of all, provide needed know-how to easily teach ARISE social skills to often reluctant students with serious behavior problems.
A FIVE YEAR EVALUATION (1997-2001)
Life-Management Skills program provides at-risk populations with the information, know-how and guidance they need to survive and succeed.
THE ARISE Foundation IN MIAMI IN THE USA started with an elementary school program in Miami-Dade County public schools in 1986 and has expanded to reach a large number of alternative schools and juvenile justice facilities throughout the State of Florida.
The ARISE program consists of over forty life-management skills curricula for pre-kindergarten through 12 grade. Since 1997, the ARISE Life Skills Lessons have been evaluated by two independent reviewers/researchers from the University of Miami (Florida) and from Quees University (Northern Ireland).
The purpose of these evaluations has been twofold:
To examine success rates among various groups of learners. To monitor learner knowledge of program components closely, at times altering aspects of the program based on evaluation results.
ARISE program data from entry and exit interviews have been collected at six different time periods, from 2,122 learners between January 1997 and June 2001. Data were drawn from several program sites including alternative schools and facilities under the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.
Since 1997, participants in the ARISE Life-Management Skills program has included African-American, Hispanic and White non-Hispanic learners whose ages have ranged from 13 to 18 years (with the majority of learners falling within the 15 to 17 age category).
Evaluation data over a five-year period show significant improvement in knowledge of issues included in the programs content: violence reduction, goal setting, anger management, drugs and alcohol avoidance and other life management skills.
Based on results found in six evaluation reports covering the five- year period from 1997 to 2001, the data show that the overall test scores improved significantly after program completion. Other evaluation data demonstrated that learners increased their scores for the vast majority of the 30 test items that were included in the entry-exit interviews. The tabular data also include summary evaluation data for ethnic and gender groups.
These data show that test scores improved significantly among learners of all ethnic groups for each of the six time-periods examined. The consistency of this result suggests that the program content is sensitive to and able to reach members of various ethnic backgrounds.
The data also indicate that both female and male learners significantly improved their attitudinal scores after completing the ARISE Life-Management Skills program. It is important to emphasize that since 1997 a number of learners have represented youth from high risk populations.
The results from each of the six evaluations, however, indicate that program test scores improved across all program sites for which a sufficient number of cases was available for analyses, including those facilities that served primarily highrisk youth. To date, the Program has been contained within the State of Florida.
Future plans are to present the ARISE Life- Management Skills program to Departments of Education and Departments of Juvenile Justice around the county, targeting frustrated, bored youth who would rather be any other place than school.
Related:
WHY WE SHOULD OPPOSE HOME DETENTION
The ACT Government has drafted a new Bill to implement Home Detention This very discriminatory type of sentence also punishes the family. It is questionable that it has been successful anywhere it has been tried.
Justice Kirby concerned at self-representation
High Court judge Michael Kirby says Australia's justice system is weakened by the increasing number of people representing themselves in court. Justice Kirby says he agrees with One Nation founder Pauline Hanson's concerns about the high cost of legal advice.
A veil of secrecy makes justice in jail a different kind from court justice
Although Queensland courts mete out justice, that justice ends at the gates of the Queensland prisons system where a bureaucratic and politically expedient doctrine of "out of sight - out of mind" takes control.
Hanson: I no longer support mandatory sentencing
One Nation Party founder Pauline Hanson has revealed she contemplated suicide while serving an 11-week jail term in Brisbane. Miss Hanson told about her time in jail and her future plans.
A Question of Innocence
Minister Chris Ellison: Yes we’re watching the progress of this project in NSW with great interest. This has been raised at the Standing Committee of Attorneys General and a working group is looking at this very question. I think we have to have a considered response to this proposal and on a national basis, we would need to have the cooperation of the states and territories.
Children of Prisoners' Support Group
Children of Prisoner's welcomes Ann Symonds as our first Patron at this years AGM and screening of "The Space in Between" video , and will have a visual display to demonstrate the invisible population of children effected by parental incarceration.
REMAND PRISONER BAIL REFUSED, THEN SHOT AND KILLED IN CUSTODY A Melbourne court has been told a prisoner was shot dead as he tried to escape from a hospital. The Melbourne Magistrates Court has been told remand prisoner Garry Whyte was receiving treatment at St Vincent's hospital in May last year, when he tried to escape.
NSW Corrections Health Service: Response
Prisoner: MRRC Long Bay: Corrective Health Services [Prison Health Service] in NSW fares only slightly better than CHS in the US. Force often takes the place of real medical care and custodial staff [guards] in fact must approve all CHS medical decisions.
DEBUS SENTENCE OUTCRY BREACHES SEPARTION OF POWERS
A 19 year old and Kadr Diab 21 convicted of the killing of a young footballer Jai Jago were today sentenced to nine years and 13-year jail terms in the NSW Supreme Court, a decision that had been made by a Judge and a Jury.
Solitary Confinement: Our very own Alcatraz
Solitary confinement only makes prisoners more violent and inhumane, writes convicted armed robber Bernie Matthews. They were countless. Grafton floggings were routine and didn't require a reason. Everything at Grafton was routine a mindless, never-ending routine of isolation and solitary confinement that was punctuated by a screw's baton, boot or fist. The prison system called it rehabilitation.
Postcard Bandit' no postcard bandit: ABC TV
The ABC's Australian Story broke the news last night that political prisoner Brendan Abbott sent no postcards. None!
The Sentencing (crime of murder) and parole reform act 2003
We wish for each and every prisoner to be brought in front of a Judge to have closure on their sentences, a fixed non-parole period on an individual basis, to give these people a chance to be able to rehabilitate and to stop them being used as Political Prisoners.
Prisoners as citizens and duty of care
For a long time now most learned people have been aware of the book Prisoners as Citizens. The Victorian Opposition is outraged at a confidential payout won by a prisoner injured while playing table tennis at the Melbourne Remand Centre because they can't afford the book?
Supporters doubt PM's efforts to release Habib, Hicks
The supporters of two Australian detainees [prisoners] being held [tortured] by the United States at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba say they draw no comfort from [war criminal], Prime Minister John Howard raising the men's plight with [war criminal], US President George W Bush.
Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research: Aboriginal Crime
In 2001 more than forty percent of the Aboriginal male population aged 20-24 in NSW appeared before a NSW court charged with a criminal offence. One in ten Aboriginal males in NSW aged 20-24 received a prison sentence.
Long Bay: Corrections Health Services in NSW prisons
Firstly, to call the Prison Health Service a Corrections Health Services is the first identified mistake. Nice names don't take the place of the type of service, they only attempt to cover up for a bad service, when the service is out the door....
Home detention for people who make mistakes
LEARNERS are getting home detention sentences by the State Government diverting people from the anti-social prison system.
MULTICULTURAL SISTERS INSIDE
Sisters Inside is a community organisation that works with women in prison, pre and post release. We challenge the injustices that impact on women in prison, their children and families.
NSW Terrorist Minister leads the way
New South Wales is hosting a two-day conference of state and territory prisons ministers on how to detain terrorists [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East.]
MENTAL ILLNESS AMONG NEW SOUTH WALES PRISONERS
Anecdotal evidence from staff working in the New South Wales correctional system [prison system] has always suggested a high prevalence of mental illness among the prisoner population.
Yatala Labour Prison Adelaide Going Backwoods: response
Thank you and your team for your support. I have been trying to write you back. However the person has now stopped me from using the computers and education centre and the typewriter has been broken.
On the treatment of prisoners at the NSW HRMU
Prisoners sister's letter from her brother: Following our phone conversation some weeks ago I would like to set out a few points on the treatment of prisoners in the High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn (Super Max) (Guantanamo Bay).
Review of Justice Ministers claims about conditions at HRMU
Minister for Justice John Hatzistergos stated on 15 July 2003 concerning the prisoners at the High Risk Management Unit at Goulbourn.[Prisoners held in solitary confinement and tortured endlessly in a Supermax Prison at Goulburn.]
Lithgow Prison: This is no Irish joke!
Allow me to introduce myself to you my name is John Smith I am writing to you for your help in regards to Corrective Services Jail at Lithgow, I am a prisoner at this centre and I am serving a long sentence. I originally came from Ireland a number of years ago.
The Ku Klux Klan and Patrick Horan
The State government has logged objections to Patrick Horan a NSW prisoner's planned release, convicted of the manslaughter of a police officer and seriously wounding another. Justice Minister John Hatzistergos says the NSW Parole Board intends to grant parole to Patrick Francis Horan, who committed the crimes near Bathurst in NSW's central west in 1986.
Lithgow prisoners speak out about rations
Some new issues have arisen today. A senior officer called me to the office, as they usually do to inform me of all new local orders etc concerning prisoners. The deputy governor has cut back funds for stores. Officers have been told they will issue only the following: One Toilet roll per week per prisoner One Toothbrush per month One plastic disposable spoon, fork, knife per day prisoner exchange only.
NSW PRISON CORRUPTION AT THE HRMU
The High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn [Solitary Confinement Supermax, Torture, Gulag,] alleged to have been the first Australian jail of the 21st century and the most secure in the Southern Hemisphere (it was claimed in an article SMH 14 May 2001).
The Daily Telegraph licensed to set up prisoners?
A man who smuggled a mobile phone into a Sydney jail and took pictures of stockbroker Rene Rivkin has been sentenced to 400 hours of community service.
International Prisoners Justice Day 2003
Justice Action, Prisoners Action Group and others celebrated this year's IPJD by visiting Silverwater Jail Complex and talking to the visitors as they went in and came out. We handed out copies of the media release and Framed to the visitors (who took them inside!) and showed our support for prisoners and their families, talking through the loud hailer so prisoners inside would be aware of our presence.
Weak NSW Government suspends Innocence Panel
The DNA evidence panel is under investigation and the New South Wales Innocence Panel's operations have been suspended and a review of how it works ordered.
Is Prison Obsolete?
Eileen is a senior lecturer in the School of Social Work UNSW where she teaches and researches in the areas of social policy and social development. She has been the chief researcher, and has also collaborated on projects and publications regarding prisons, the criminal justice system and women, public and social housing and indigenous matters. She has recently completed major research on ex-prisoners, accommodation and social reintegration. Eileen has been active in using research to argue for policy change in the NSW criminal justice field for some years.
Escape proof but not so the prisoners mind
Fewer prisoners escape from prison these days because they're "cemented in" by materials that do not break and by legislation that can keep prisoners in jail until they die. All new prisons are virtually unbreakable. Built out of products like perspex, concrete and steel that have no flexibility and ensure that the prisoners of today take the full brunt of all Department of Corrective Services institutional failures.
Researching post-release options for Indigenous women exiting Australian prisons :HREOC The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission is researching post-release options for Indigenous women exiting Australian prisons. We are particularly interested in examining the accommodation options available to women upon their release from prison.
Parents on the inside leave children on the edge
They have been dubbed the forgotten generation - the innocent casualties of their parents' crimes. New research shows that in 2001 14,500 NSW children had a parent in jail. And 60,000 NSW children under 16 have experienced the incarceration of a parent, more than half enduring the trauma of separation before they turn five.
New video to create empathy in violent criminals?
Violent offenders in New South Wales prisons will be the audience for a new video put together by the victims of crime group, Enough is Enough, but nothing from the ex-prisoners, support groups, like Justice Action, because they don't rate?
Junee Prison, NSW Parliament and Noble Cause Corruption
I have not been charged with any offence. The first thing I knew was when they (the Intel officer) at Junee had me called to reception. I was then told that I was going to segregation for good order and discipline.
Beyond Bars: Sentencing reform
A spokesperson Dr Tim Anderson said, " The law reform commission was too gutless on this a few years back but re-introducing remissions (perhaps under another name) would be a valuable move best wishes".
The Australian Institute of Criminology has released the National Deaths in Custody Program annual report for 2002 Between January and December 2002, there was a total of 69 deaths in custody in Australia. There were 50 deaths in prison custody and 19 deaths in police custody and custody-related police operations.
Yatala Labour Prison Adelaide Going Backwoods
I'm a prisoner in south Australia (Adelaide), Yatala Labour Prison, I'm 39 years old with only two and a half years spent in the community since the age of 13. I came into the adult prison system in 1985; I was released in 1998 only to re-offend. I'm now doing 30 years with a 16-year non-parole period, as it's truth in sentencing in our state and there is no remission. My release date is 2016.
Inspector General of Corrective Services Debate
Below is our response to Justice Minister Hatzistergos' comments in a debate in Parliament on July 2, 2003 regarding the impending decision about the future of the Inspector General of Corrective Services in NSW.
Hatzistergos: The Daily Telegraph's prison mates
Who convinced a prisoner on periodic detention to take a mobile phone into prison to take a photo of Rene Rivkin? The prisoner said no and contacted the Daily Terror to say no.
PRISONERS OFFER OF RECONCILIATION
Premier Bob Carr, Deputy Premier Andrew Refshauge, Senator Aden Ridgeway, and other community representatives have been invited to receive the message from the men of "The Hole.
Goulburn Solitary Confinement: Midnight Special
If you ever go to Goulburn HRMU yeah, you better walk right, you'd better not breathe and sure thing better not fight. The next thing you know the SCU gonna arrest you and Rotten Ron send you down and you can bet your bottom dollar Lord, you'll be chaingang bound.
Carr defends prison handling of political PRISONER
Bob Carr should be ashamed of himself after giving the prisons Commissioner Rotten Ron Woodham another filthy job setting up Phuong Ngo as one of the most dangerous prisoners in the State.
DCS: Protection gangs? - Ngo exploited in prison
New South Wales prison officials claim to have disbanded a gang in the Lithgow jail set up to protect convicted murderer, Phuong Ngo.
How the QLD Dangerous Prisoners Act failed the first test
What is dangerous? Everyone is dangerous naturally it really depends on how far a person is pushed. Standing on a mountaintop with someone walking you backwoods towards the edge would promote fight or flight and if there is nowhere to fly but over the edge you may choose to respond. When a person breaks the law they lack social skills or are repressed into breaking the law.
Prison rehab programs in 'disarray': Opp
The New South Wales Opposition says rehabilitation in the state's prisons is in disarray. But the states prisons could never rehabilitate in the first place. So how can it be in disarray? The space station as it is known cannot rehabilitate because it's only a dot on the community map, as it were, in relation to how people were raised.
SENTENCING RIVKIN: BRAIN SURGERY OR SUICIDE?
A proper Sentencing Council, such as the one proposed by the Carr Government, would not have sent Rene Rivkin to jail, locked up as a slave in a box.
RESPONSE TO REVIEW OF INSPECTOR GENERAL OF PRISONS
Justice Action calls for the retention of the office of Inspector General and a restructure of the legislation making it truly independent.
Rene Rivkin: Beam me down Scottie! - We gotta get out of this space At best a prison is only a Space Station. Nothing more nothing less and it doesn't matter how much money or resources are spent on prisons they're only a candle light for human growth and survival, opposed to the sunshine and the benefit and resources of the whole community.
Old bureaucrats to say whether they felt there should be an effective inspector of bureaucrats?
JA is urgently working on a response to the 31 page review of the position of the Inspector General of Corrective Services position released by the Minister on10/6/03.
High Risk Management Unit (HRMU) INSPECTION
This letter is to request permission for an independent inspection team to examine the 75-cell HRMU at Goulburn Jail. The proposed inspection team consists of specialist doctors, jurists, members of the Corrections Health Service Consumer Council and prisoners representatives.
MJA - BBCD Outbreaks in NSW prisons
Seems some of our friends in & around Corrections Health Service (CHS) were able to take advantage of a couple of recognised cases of needle sharing by HIV positive prisoners to gather data for a study.
Intractables
As an ex-Grafton intractable (1971-1975) and the only living ex-prisoner to have served the longest time inside Katingal (1975-1978) I feel qualified to offer the following personal observations:
Intolerable Conditions of Prisoners at Goulburn's HRMU
We wish to with respect, level a serious complaint against the Chief Executive Officer, Corrections Health Services, Dr Richard Matthews.
SIX YEARS IN HELL - The Sorry Saga of Ivan Robert Milat
This month, May 2003, Ivan Milat will have spent six years in segregation/isolation without any charges, enquiry, or breach of prison rules levelled against him.
NSW death in custody, false imprisonment, and assault
Knight's case sparked headlines after it emerged that his suicide in John Moroney Correctional Centre [prison] in Sydney on January 22 occurred 18 days after his official release date.
Victorian (Australia) Juvenile Deaths in Custody & Post-Release has just been published on the British Journal of Medicine Quotes (BJM): "The risk of death was nine times higher in male offenders than in the reference Victorian male population. Although the estimate is unstable because of the small number of deaths, female offenders seemed to be about 40 times more likely to die than the reference Victorian female population."
The Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986 Qld
The Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986 (Qld), requires that any person who has committed an offence which is less than 10 years old or which resulted in a prison sentence of more than 30 months, must disclose that offence if requested eg. for employment purposes. If a criminal record is disclosed in a job application, it is unlikely that person will be given the job.
NSW Serious Offenders Review Council
In response to a letter we have received from Mr K C who has said that he is serving 24 years and 10 months commencing on 29/8/1991 with his earliest release date being 28/6/2016 with 4 years parole and full time 28/6/2020. He said that he contacted the Serious Offenders Review Council in writing but received no response.
Justice Action's complaints about ACM to the NSW Ombudsman fell on deaf ears The Federal Government is reviewing allegations that the company it pays to run Australia's detention centres the same company who runs Junee Jail in NSW has fraudulently reduced staffing levels in at least one centre to increase its profits.
Token Parole Board reforms silent on Govt bungle
The Carr governments token reforms of the Parole Board are minimalist and still fail to explain the election cover-up of mismanagement, which contributed to an inmate's [a prisoners] death.
PAROLE BOARD REWARDED? FOR DEADLY MISTAKE
The Justice Minister has released government reforms to the Parole Board following the death of an aboriginal inmate, which was due to a Parole Board error.
Sentencing innovation breaks vicious circle of jail terms
"Three months' jail for one punch in a pub fight is too much," said the victim. The victim's comment counted because he and the offender, Robert Bolt, a Nowra Aborigine, were making history in the first case of circle sentencing, a new way of deciding punishment for indigenous offenders.
Letter from the mother of a prisoner on remand at the High Risk Management Unit Goulburn Correctional Centre I am writing to give you permission to make any inquiries on my behalf as I am invalid pensioner who doesn't drive and been only well enough to travel by train once in 15 months to see my son Scott Simpson. I have enclosed a copy of Scott's letter and also a copy of gaol papers form I have to fill out and wait to see if I'm allowed in to see him. He doesn't get any visits. He is in the Supermax and deprived of any privileges not even legal Aid will fund a solicitor to see him in Goulburn.
WA Jail trade in 'sex for favours'
THE West Australian Government has ordered an inquiry into claims guards at Perth's main women's prison are trading favours for sex, and encouraging inmates to form lesbian relationships.
NSW prisons over-crowded. Gov't orders investigation into death in custody
In January this year, a 23-year-old Aboriginal prisoner was found hanging in his cell in a Sydney jail 18 days after he was due to be released.
Yes Minister: 'Justice Action meets John Hatzistergos Justice Mininster' We have taken a few days to pass this on, as we wanted clarification of the minister's statement about the purposes of imprisonment before publishing it.
Beyond Bars Alliance colleagues
There are certainly problems with the IG's terms of reference and the position is not nearly as strong as it should or could be but it should not be lost it should be strengthened (along the lines of the UK IG of Prisons) to provide an independent voice to the Parliament regarding activities and processes that otherwise happen behind prison walls.
Submissions for Review of Inspector General
There is a very serious attack happening on the office of the NSW Inspector General of Corrective Services. A secret and flawed review is taking place at this moment, and we call upon all individuals and organisations interested in the area to make their views known.
Two thirds of a billion dollars and DCS can't work out what authority they have? "Two thirds of a billion dollars of taxpayers money and the Department of Corrective Services can't work out what authority they have to hold the people who are in jail."
Australia: Private Prisons, Junee NSW
When I got to Junee I was given nothing except bed linen. That's it! No clothing. I had to put my name down for clothing, which they said I could get on Saturday. When I went down to get my clothing on Saturday I was told they had nothing but I was told that I could buy what I wanted on their monthly buy-up. In the mean time I got rashes between my legs from the dirty clothes I had on.
Justice Action meets with new Minister for Justice
John Hatzistergos Minister for Justice is meeting with Brett Collins and Justice Action today at 11:30 a.m.
ARUNTA PHONE SYSTEM: IDC Lithgow Prison
The prisoners of Lithgow Correctional Centre have requested that the Lithgow Inmate Development Committee write to you on their behalf and ask that the phone systems heavy burden upon the prisoners at this institution and their families be reviewed. I will outline the problems.
Health problems denied in prison
Lithgow Correctional Centre (IDC) Inmate Development Committee "Currently there are 72 inmates on the doctors waiting list with only one doctor coming fortnightly and usually on a weekend".
NSW Prisons Inmate Development Committee speaks out
I am writing on behalf of the IDC Inmate Development Committee in area 3, MSPC at Long Bay. Area 3 is where, the Department is congregating minimum-security offenders within maximum-security walls whilst awaiting mandatory programs at Cubit (Sex Offenders Program).
THE GULAG TREATMENT - The Trauma Of Court Appearances When Incarcerated Prisoner transport vehicle 10th January 2003 It's about 4.40am, very darkoutside and although I'm expecting it, it is still intrusive when my dreams are interrupted by the sound of my name, it is the officer checking that I'm awake ready to face the long day ahead.
Sir David Longland Correctional Centre
If it were possible to characterize the term B Block attitude in a modern dictionary, it would read something like "demeanor of inhabitance" or "state of mind or behaviour of occupants".
SIR DAVID LONGLAND CORRECTIONAL CENTRE QLD - CELLS IN B BLOCK The cells in B Block are like no other in any Queensland prison. After Mr. Cooper was severally embarrassed by the Abbott and Co escape on 4th November 1997, he visited B Block and the surrounding grounds. It was that visit, by Cooper, that set in motion a plan (up the ante) to make sure security in B Block would never embarrass him again. It was like closing the gate after the horse has bolted.
Inspector General Ignored On Womens Prison
Four months after a report from the Inspector General on Mulawa Correctional Centre, key recommendations involving safety and welfare of prisoners and staff have been ignored. Kathryn Armstrong (former chair of Inmate Development Committee) and Annabel Walsh, released from Mulawa Womens Prison in February, have produced an independent report confirming the findings of the Inspector General.
Distribution of: 'How to Votes in prisons'?
Justice Action have received information from Andrew Burke of the NSW Greens that they have enquired with the Department of Corrective Services as to the procedure for distributing their How To Votes in prisons in the period before the election.
Getting Justice Wrong DPP make full admissions
Back in May 2001 Nicholas Cowdery QC made an error at law by giving a speech called Getting Justice Wrong at the University of New England, Armidale Thursday, 31 May 2001. Sir Frank Kitto, Lecture now published at the DPP website. At page six, paragraph 3 under the heading:
NSW ELECTION 2003: VOTE 1 GREENS
Inspector-General: The Greens believe that the role of the Inspector-General is crucial to the proper functioning of the prison system. It has never been more important to have a powerful watchdog role than today. Section 3.11 of our Criminal Justice Policy commits the Greens to "strengthening the role of the Inspector-General of Prisons."
Long Bay Prison: The latest inside story
Private food purchases called Buy-Ups that normally take care of the prisoners additional food nutrition in Jail has been changed.
Doing time even harder: 146 prisoners far from home
The United States, however, has detained without trial about 650 men from 43 countries. They include Australians David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, who are held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base as part of the sweep against global terrorism [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's, pre-emptive strikes, occupation and genocide for resources in the Middle East.]
Human Rights 'Framed'
Here is a quick report on our Human Rights Commission approach on Framed (the quarterly magazine of Justice Action) being banned from all NSW prisons. After 42 issues went in.
Prison Privatisation: Death camps looming in NSW
I asked for the identification of the person I was speaking to and was told that I was not entitled to that information. I needed to verify the call and asked for a name or number to register my call because I was asked to get those details by my coordinator.The person refused to identify themselves either by name or number. I asked to be transferred to a senior person and was refused. The person I spoke to then hung up the phone.
NSW education professor warns further commitment needed
The author of a report on the New South Wales education system has urged the major political parties to do more for education in the election campaign.
Corrections Victoria and criminal acts: SCS-4\320 UPDATE
You have stated "Section 30 of the Corrections Act 1986 and the Information Privacy Act 2000, restricts the release of confidential information regarding prisoners, I therefore am unable to provide any information regarding this matter."
Death camps looming in Victoria
A letter was received on 15 January 03 from SCS-4\320 a remand prisoner in Victoria's Barwon Prison I later found out that the prisoner was in the Acacia High Security Unit.
Jail search finds knives, syringes
Mr Brett Collins a spokesperson for Justice Action said, "It shows there is a lot of desperation in the prison system at the moment and has been for some time."
Take crime talk beyond the bars:'lobby group'
A coalition of academics, crime experts, welfare and church groups is preparing to launch an intensive pre-election campaign aimed at refocusing the attention of NSW politicians from harsh sentencing reforms to crime prevention strategies.
Six weeks, six months, six years: inmates have little chance of making fresh start More than 15,500 people are released from NSW prisons each year, twice the number of 20 years ago. But new research shows many ex-prisoners find it impossible to reintegrate into society and, months after release, are worse off than before they went to jail.
NSW A-G moves to stop criminals and ex-criminals selling stories
From next month criminals or ex-criminals who try to profit (earn a living for paid work, like writing a book etc..) from their crimes in New South Wales will have the proceeds confiscated.
NSW Govt criticised over criminal justice record
Key criminal justice groups have described the New South Wales Government's record on justice issues as a "disappointing performance".
APPOINTMENT OF KLOK IS: 'DECLARATION OF WAR'
The decision of the Carr government to appoint John Jacob Klok as the new Assistant Commissioner for Corrective Services in charge of security represents a statement of contempt to all those concerned about law and justice in NSW.
How NSW Dept of Corrective Services spent $800,000 dollars to rehabilitate a Sydney man sentenced to life for second murder! A spokesperson for Justice Action Mr Pro Grams said, "Well it's your money, how would you like it spent? And what do you think about rehabilitation on behalf of the Department of Corruptive Services?
Prisoners Representatives Excommunicated
Ron Woodham, Commissioner Corrective Services stated "[this Department] does not recognise Justice Action as an advocate on correctional centre issues." He has ordered a ban on all Justice Action material inside the NSW prison system. This resulted from a request for the approval of the latest edition of Framed (the Magazine of Justice Action) to be distributed throughout NSW prisons as has occurred for the past ten years.
Dept of Corrective Services: Rotten Ron Woodham on the ropes
This is The Freeedom Of Speech and The Press in a goldfish-bowl! Herr Goebells has spoken. Zieg Heil! (Which means, actually: "aim-for health!" incidentally)Apologies for not making meetings ... my first experiences with Woodham (then a -screw-gestapo-minor-with-a-friendly-dog - AND YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS WHEN EVEN HIS DOG DOESN`T LIKE HIM?)
At the Minister's Pleasure The case of Michael Kelly
Michael is caught up in a particularly cruel version of the game of Cat and Mouse. Because he is classified as a forensic patient under the Mental Heath Act of NSW, the Minister for Health is his master, not the Minister for Corrective Services. And the Minister for health will not let him go.
EX-PRISONER UNEMPLOYMENT: SENTENCED FOR LIFE
Name removed by request served time in prison decades ago. Shes still being punished today. According to commonwealth and state legislation, ex-prisoners applying for jobs must declare any conviction that fits into the following categories: less than 10 years old, more than 10 years old but served more than 30 months in prison.
ARE YOU INNOCENT?
The Australian Law Reform Commission had recommended that the Innocence Panel be independent and have the power to investigate alleged miscarriages of justice.
RESTORING TRUE JUSTICE:
Australian prisons are fast becoming the new asylums of the third millennium. The prison industry is booming, while Australia spends far less on mental health services than similar countries.
NSW Department of Corrective Services attack right to privacy
Corrective Services Minister Richard Amery has a problem attacking prisoners right to privacy.It seems to us that a civil society is best served when social justice laws are applied to all people regardless of their circumstances. Once government starts making exceptions which disadvantage certain groups and individuals, such laws are meaningless.
Litigants are drowning: in the High Court
There were so many self represented litigants appearing in the High Court that more than half of its registry staff's time was taken up in dealing with them. The "go it alone" litigants have to take on tasks well above their qualified league causing them stress. This growing problem cannot be left unchecked.
Everyone wants to get out of 'jail' but 'Framed' wants life: Rotten Ron on the ropes On 2 May 2002, Justice Action received a faxed letter from Manager of DCS Operations Support Branch saying that, in his view, articles in Framed edition #42 'lack balance and integrity' and he is therefore 'not prepared to recommend this issue of Framed for placement in to correctional centre libraries.' Prisoners and those concerned about prisoner issues have very few sources of information.
Methadone addicts formed within: 'NSW Prisons'
The New South Wales Opposition has accused the State Government of turning jailed heroin users into Methadone addicts.
Murder charge first for DNA data bank link, but not the same as solving the murder Mass DNA testing of prisoners has [allegedly] led to the first NSW case of a person being charged with a previously unsolved murder as a result of a controversial gene-matching data bank.
Prisoners can prove innocence for $20?
Les Kennedy Daily Telegraph reported today that" Prisoners who believe that DNA will prove they were wrongly convicted will have the chance to prove their innocence for a mere $20 administration fee. The move comes 20 months after NSW inmates were asked to provide DNA for comparison with a databank of DNA from unsolved crime scenes for possible convictions.
NSW opposition pledges review of detention laws
A spokesperson for Justice Action Ms Anal Advice said " NSW Prisons are a sex offence if you have been raped, bashed and squatted down to be strip searched. People should be diverted from going there at all material times".
Civil libertarians condemn planned changes to prisoners' privacy rights The New South Wales Government is using a recent case involving [framed] serial killer Ivan Milat to justify its decision to remove the privacy rights of prisoners. But really just another attack on Ivan Milat from Parliament House.
The punishment: Is the 'crime'
The punishment is the crime according to retired chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia Justice Alistair Nicholson. "Smacking a child ought to be seen as assault".
Mr. & Mrs. Mandatory Sentencing
Well congratulations to the bride and groom. Could you please be upstanding and raise your glasses for Mr. And Mrs. Mandatory.
Just wipe your arse on Ivan again Minister?
Mr Amery Minister for Corrective services has a problem with finding a toilet roll to wipe his bottom. Justice Action is appalled at the attacks by Amery and others in parliament on Ivan Milat's right to privacy and their attacks on the Privacy Commissioner and his office.
NSW Parliament Bitter Pills To Swallow?
One delusion pill: So people who investigate their own mistakes make sure there was no mistake or someone else made the mistake. Perhaps you're not biased and you will be honest about it.
NSW prisons - primary industry bailed up!
In many quiet regional centres around NSW there is a new primary industry shaping up. It has something to do with Bail but not with bales. The minister for Agriculture Richard Amery who also has the prisons portfolio is now committed to farming prisoners.
Black Nexus
The Separation of Powers Doctrine is nowcontaminated witharangeofcolours, now leaving us with a black shirt on a once blue bridge that crossed that thin blue line. The 'Amery and Woodham show'.
Prison Mind Games-Do they exist?
Directives are given inside the prison system that are not consistent with the law in NSW. And not in the good interests of the health and well being of the prisoners.
The Government is likely to abolish the Inspector General of Corrective Services position The Mulawa inspection report recommendations below strictly illustrate how important he is.
Chronology - A History of Australian Prisons
[Allegedly:] The events that have shaped NSW prisons - from convict days through royal commissions, to the Supermax of today. [I say allegedly because no one should trust Four Corners [Walls], why? Because they spill out the propaganda of the day for the Government, whether it be wrong or right. A government that lies and has no remorse about it.]
Justice Action
Justice Action is a community based organisation of criminal justice activists. We are prisoners, academics, victims of crime, ex-prisoners, lawyers and general community members. We believe that meaningful change depends upon free exchange of information and community responsibility.
Beyond Bars Alliance colleagues
I imagine all of you received Justice Action's email yesterday regarding the position of Inspector General of Corrective Services.
Community Restorative Centre
NSW spends more than half a billion tax dollars a year on prisons. It costs $60,000 to keep someone in maximum security for a year: more than double the minimum wage. CRC looks for and implements better solutions to the high social and economic costs of crime.
Sisters Inside Inc
Sisters Inside Inc. is an independent community organisation, which exists to advocate for the human rights of women in the criminal justice system, and to address gaps in the services available to them. We work alongside women in prison in determining the best way to fulfil these roles.
Smart Justice
Smart Justice does not support any party but calls for investment in prevention, alternatives to custody and initiatives that tackle the causes of crime. It is important to dispel the myths about 'law and order' and promote real solutions to crime and violence.
Shine For Kids
What happens for a young person who has a parent in prison?There are a lot of consequences for children or young people who have a parent in prison. During Groupwork the kids themselves have identified as being:
Children of Prisoners' Support Group
Children of Prisoner's welcomes Ann Symonds as our first Patron at this years AGM and screening of "The Space in Between" video , and will have a visual display to demonstrate the invisible population of children effected by parental incarceration.
