Tuesday, January 6, 2004

Conditions in the HRMU

Justice Action is trying to obtain documents on behalf of prisoners held in the Goulburn High Risk Management Unit (HRMU) from the Federal Attorney General's Department, Corrective Services Minister's Conference regarding the process described below, in which the Standard Guidelines for Corrections in Australia were adopted. This documentation will help explain the justification for the conditions in the HRMU.

After receiving complaints from several prisoners regarding the air and light conditions inside the cells, we compiled some research into the Standard Guidelines for Corrections in Australia (SGCA). It is clear from our research that, in the adoption of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (UN SMR's) to the Australian context, the "Rules" changed to "Guidelines" and the substance of the material changed significantly. These changes relate directly to the conditions in the HRMU which appear to breach the UN SMR's and partially the SGCA.

UN vs. Australian Guidelines

The UN SMR's say,

"11. In all places where prisoners are required to live or work,

(a) The windows shall be large enough to enable the prisoners to read or work by natural light, and shall be so constructed that they can allow the entrance of fresh air whether or not there is artificial ventilation;" (emphasis added)

In 1995 or 1996, the Corrective Services Ministers' Conference, conducted annually by the Attorney General's Office, met to discuss the adoption of Standard Guidelines for Corrections in Australia (published 1996). This document is clearly modelled after the UN SMR's, however, the above paragraph was changed to read,

"5.26 In all places where prisoners are required to live or work,

The windows should be large enough to enable the prisoners to read or work by natural light, and should be constructed in such a way that they allow entrance of fresh air except where there is artificial ventilation;" (emphasis added).

Justice Action attempted to access the procedural documents outlining who made the decision to change the wording of the UN SMR's and how this decision was arrived at and justified by the Conference. The Conference Secretariat referred us to the Department of Corrective Services. The Department will not answer our correspondence. For this reason, we ask you Mr The Hon, John Hatzistergos Minister for Justice in a letter dated 9 December 2003, to obtain this documentation on our behalf, and copy it to us. This article for the record. Thanks.

Fresh Air

The change in the standard for fresh air has particular relevance to the HRMU because there is artificial ventilation and no fresh air. Prisoner's complaints include claustrophobia, freezing temperatures, stale air, and attacks of self-harming due to claustrophobia. These conditions are exacerbated by the fact that these prisoners are kept in their cells for up to three days in a row, and only let out for one hour on other days.

Natural Light

Both of the UN SMR and the SGCA state the requirement for natural light (i.e. sunlight). Justice Action wrote to the Corrections Health Service about the requirement for natural light in the HRMU. Associate Professor Michael Levy responded in a letter dated 18 September 2003,

"Natural lighting must be provided but can be in various forms. It can also be borrowed from adjoining areas such as corridors, verandahs etc."

However, from our correspondence with prisoners, we understand that when the cell doors are closed, no sunlight can enter the cells, and the prisoners are unable to see the sky.

In the early 1980s Dr. Norman Rosenthal and colleagues at the US NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) first described a type of depression known as "Seasonal Affective Disorder" (SAD) and by the early 1990s had come to the conclusion that it was primarily due to light deprivation. It is called "seasonal" because the only time most of the population is deprived of light is during the winter months. However, it can occur any time a person is deprived of light, and is only remedied by exposure to sunlight or a light source emitting at least 10,000 lux. Most standard artificial lighting does not emit over 1000 lux.

Outside The Corrections System

Correspondence with the NSW Justice Minister reveals that the Government regards the HRMU as being outside the correctional system;

"the High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn Correctional Centre is a purpose built facility providing state of the art accommodation to securely house and manage high risk inmates in a human environment that will eventually help them re-enter the correctional system. It is not an isolation or segregation unit." (emphasis added. Letter from John Hatzistergos 15 July 2003.)

The assertion that the HRMU is not part of the correctional system is of particular concern. If this is allowed to become policy by lack of inquiry, then any guidelines the Department had agreed to uphold with regard to the correctional system would not be applicable to the HRMU.

Segregation Unit

The assertion that the HRMU is not a segregation unit is also of concern. "Segregation" requires stern legal obligations because it allows solitary confinement. The definition of solitary confinement includes three key elements - sensory deprivation, social isolation, and confinement. These characteristics are evident in R.H. Thoenig's description:

[T]he separate confinement of a prisoner with only occasional, limited access by other persons, to an environment which is stripped of all but the basic necessities for maintaining life and which is generally restrictive of light, sound, diet, reading material, exercise and occasionally of temperature.

The facts of the HRMU conditions correspond with this definition:

1. Prisoners are only allowed access to one other prisoner at a time for limited times, as a privilege to be earned.

2. Restricted light, sound, diet, reading material and exercise.

3. Controlled temperature.


The Government's claims that these conditions do not amount to segregation imply an attempt to redefine the term so as to justify a policy which violates the human rights of prisoners.

21 HRMU prisoners have signed a letter which reads in part,

"We the inmates at the High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn Correctional Centre would like to ask you for help in receiving equal treatment and opportunities as other prisoners throughout the system. As we are told that we are not in a segregation unit but we are treated as though we are in one.

We are lodging our concerns and grievances to you, because we are trying to get some form of justice, some equal opportunities as normal discipline prisoners (if that is in fact what we are) and we are trying to avoid the inevitable madness we are all heading to under this current regime in the HRMU.

Past history on prisoners has shown that when prisoners are put in segregation environments for lengthy periods of time and subjected to stressful and frustrating living conditions, the results is always the same, the day to day pressures become too much and it is only a matter of time before inmates end up behaving in violent and antisocial ways on a larger scale."

Reference

RH Thoenig, cited in W Lucas 'Solitary Confinement: Isolation as Coercion to Conform' (1976) 9 Aust.Crim & N.Z.J. 153 at p154.

By Stacy Scheff posted 6 January 04

THE EGG: This article has been edited and posted by GKCNN for the record because numerous other letters seeking the other prisoner's consent to act on their behalf have not been received by JA for six weeks since they were sent.

THE CHICKEN: Complaints have been forwarded to the OmbudsPerson and the Prisoners Legal Service to have the HRMU acknowledge that we make a reference to the Federal Postal Act in relation to the prisoner's mail. Quite clearly we would like to know whether our clients have received their mail sent some 6 weeks ago asking the rest of prisoners to sign and return their consent to act on their behalf as they have asked us to do.

Ed: This is not the first time we have complained about interference with the prisoner's mail.

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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.

Medical records Alex Mitchell's lost world
Perhaps we can get your medical report and spew it around publicly so you can see how it feels. But surely we do not have to go that far. And of course we are law-abiding citizens and I should think it would be enough to remind you of your ethics to report at all.

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.