'A Nice Day Out' From Risdon Prison

Arranged for maximum-security prisoner 43637 Trustrum, Thomas Edward, by Justice Pierre W Slicer, Tasmania's Supreme Court human-rights an social-justice crusader.

(* quote from Supreme Court transcript 4 May 2005,page 36, para 40)

Prisoner Trustrum - age 73: At about 8am on my two nice days out arranged by former solicitor (now judge) Mr Pierre Slicer, on 4 May and 15 June this year, the yard-officer informed me that I was 'going to court'.

A 'yard' is a big wire cage containing about 40 cells and around 60-70 prisoners (half of the 3mtr-square cells are shared). There are six big wire cages altogether holding around 500 prisoners.

I was then marched form my cage by a guard, to what is called the 'reception centre', where prisoners ordinary cloths are stored in small' shoeboxes' for between 12-months and 30 years.

There is no similarity between Risdon prison's ugly little 'reception centre' and a real reception-centre on the outside.

Prisoners going on a nice day out to court or the Royal Hobart hospital can choose whether they wish to go in their prison track-suit and boots -- or in their crumpled suit and used shirt stored in their shoebox.

The big prison laundry is next to the ugly little 'reception centre' -- but prisoners are NOT ALLOWED to go on their nice days out in fresh, clean cloths.

Either way, you are then instructed to STRIP OFF and bend over, to allow your anus to be checked for concealed crowbars, cranes or helicopters. Your underpants and socks are 'shaken out' and your shoes or boots are peed in (correction -- peered in).

After you have dressed and stood upright again, you are handcuffed and bent over again to scramble and slither into the low prison van (without using your hands, because you are handcuffed) which takes you on your nice day out to court or hospital.

The inside of the small van is based on the design of a sardine-tin. The floor and two bench seats along each side are of shiny painted sheet-metal. There is nothing to 'hold onto' (even if you were not in handcuffs). This means prisoners are thrown around when the van is moving.

The sardine-tin usually carries three or four prisoners at a time on their nice days out to and from court -- but up to eight at a squeeze. The vehicle is also used for carrying sick or injured prisoners to and from the Royal Hobart hospital -- in handcuffs.

Once the guards have locked the bent-over, handcuffed prisoners in the sardine-tin, they get in the driver section; which is a separate compartment. This often causes prisoners anxiety as the guards cannot see or hear them -- and if the cheap old van were ever to collide and burst into flames, the prisoners would be BURNED ALIVE in handcuffs, as the fuel-tank is under their locked door!

(Prisoner Trustrum had noted on tv on several occasion after being jailed that prisoners and terrorists in Third World countries are often transported in small modern coachers. But in will obviously be many years before the Tasmanian government can afford the luxury Spirit of Tasmania Three ferry - which sails between Sydney and Tasmania mostly empty- and a small coach for Risdon's 500 prisoners.)

On arrival at court on your nice days out, you are marched to the cells below in your handcuffs and locked in, until your case is to be heard. Or you are marched through the Royal Hobart hospital (in handcuffs) if you are sick or injured. Or you are handcuffed to a stretcher or trolley.

After you nice day out in court or hospital, you are handcuffed and bent over again, to climb into the sardine-tin without using you hands (which are handcuffed) where you spend the next 20 minutes - or two hours if you are at Launceston - PRAYING that the old tin without springs will not collide with anything and burst into flames.

Eventually your nice day out in court or hospital in handcuffs, in a crumpled suit and dirty shirt, comes to an end as you arrive back at the ugly little 'reception centre' next to the big prison laundry.

Your crumpled suit and dirty shirt are thrown back in the shoebox again; ready for your next nice day out.

[Arranged by judge Pierre Slicer of the National Committee for Human Rights Education.]

Next -- prisoner Trustrum, 73, taken to Royal Hobart hospital. He is warned by mysterious visitor of plan by DPP Ellis - to kill him. Prison Governor Barber conceals the story.

By Just Us posted 27 July 2005

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PRISON ACTION & REFORM INC: Tas Prison Complaints
TASMANIA: Prison Action & Reform was formed in response to the five deaths in custody that occurred between August 1999 and January 2000. Chris Wever, Vickie Douglas, Rose Macaulay, Judith Santos and others came to together to fight for reform in an outdated, increasingly cash-strapped and uncaring system. Of the original members, three lost loved ones to the Tasmanian prison system.


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Members of Prison Action & Reform are furious with the latest lies from the Attorney General -- Judy Jackson, and demand that she produce evidence to support her ludicrous claims.

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No Safe Place
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School cage case given all clear?

The caged enclosure used to control an intellectually disabled student at a Perth school was necessary and appropriate, Education Minister Alan Carpenter said yesterday after receiving an independent report on the case of 12-year-old Neil Moore.

Mr Carpenter said leading child psychologist Jay Birnbrauer had found the Kenwick School's efforts to control Neil were justified and that the school had not breached its duty of care.

The Australian Newspaper revealed in February that Neil had repeatedly been locked in the purpose-built caged enclosure for up to 90 minutes at a time.

The enclosure, referred to school staff as the "quiet garden", comprised an area of unshaded grass surrounded on three sides by 3m-high cyclone fencing with a wooden bench but no access to water or toilet facilities.

It was used intermittently until last September but remained at the school until February this year, despite repeated complaints to the Education Department by Neil's grandmother and guardian Sheila Simons.

Mr Carpenter ordered an independent review of the case, which saw Dr Birnbrauer begin interviews in March.

In his report tabled in parliament yesterday, Dr Birnbrauer said the school may have been negligent had it not used the enclosed facility to control Neil.

Although conceding the enclosure was unusual, he said it was acceptable given that everyone interviewed had agreed Neil's rage behaviour was difficult to predict.

Ms Simons said she was "extremely disappointed" at Dr Birnbrauer's findings and outraged that the minister had concluded the enclosure was justified.

By Trauma 7 May 04

THE CHICKEN: Corporal punishment for children is never justified and children locked in cages is corporal punishment.

THE EGG: International No-Smacking Day April 30 2004, The only defence a child has is fear. If you raise your voice to a child by one decibel you raise fear in a child. Any other type of punishment above and beyond raising your voice will cause a child trauma. Locking a child up in their room is actually severe punishment in relation to raising your voice and a cage is not only severe but also degrading and inhumane.

Dover Mental Cage

When we got to our next intended stop-the Dover Mental Cage-we got a disappointing shock. The Cage is no more!! Yep, that's right, the famous strange Dover, NJ landmark is gone, nothing remains in the empty spot where it once stood besides a few scraps of rusted old metal and a flattened clearing. The pics on this page are older pics which were actually shot last year, the last time Markus & I went out there

Legend says that this sinister-looking Cage, which used to be found in a patch of woods in Hurd Park, out behind St. Clare's Hospital, was used to lock up the most incorrigible criminally insane patients from the hospital. It was said that the angry spirits of the patients who suffered this cruel and unusual incarceration still haunted the Cage, just waiting for anyone foolish enough to step inside the inescapable iron bars with them. Indeed, we shot a picture of it that seems to have an unexplained, unexpected subject (pic, below right) check out the weird misty, ectoplasm-y shape in front of the Cage, complete with orb!

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TONY EASTLEY: Still in Queensland, and there are disturbing new allegations about disabled children having suffered extraordinary abuse in private residential care facilities.

Central Europe: Mentally ill kept in padlocked, caged beds
Cental Europe: Patients are sometimes locked in cages like the ones above for months or years, says the Budapest based Mental Disability Advocacy Centre Credit: MDAC.

Queensland punishes disabled children kept in cages

The World Today - Disabled children kept in cage: allegation

TONY EASTLEY: Still in Queensland, and there are disturbing new allegations about disabled children having suffered extraordinary abuse in private residential care facilities.

Premier Peter Beattie's office has confirmed it's received an official complaint about mentally and physically disabled people being locked in cages and threatened with broom handles.

Inquiries are now underway, as Nick Grimm reports.

NICK GRIMM: The Queensland Government has today found itself fielding claims that it's been too slow to act on the allegations.

Most alarming, the claim disabled children were locked in cages by residential care staff who were in the habit of banging on the cage with a broom handle, threatening punishment.

JUDY SPENCE: Look, there've been allegations about disorganisation for some time.

NICK GRIMM: Queensland's Minister for Disability Services, Judy Spence, says her department took action against the residential care facility five months ago.

JUDY SPENCE: In July of this year children were removed from the facility, they had been sent there for short-term or respite periods for some time, that has no longer occurred.

NICK GRIMM: But Queensland's Opposition Leader, the National Party's Lawrence Springborg, says the public deserves a better explanation.

LAWRENCE SPRINGBORG: Well, my concern about this is that the matter was raised with the Premier over 12 months ago, and Mr Beattie hadn't responded until somebody else came on the scene and actually took some real action in this area.

And it seems to me that Mr Beattie is only interested in controlling the fallout from issues, rather than really getting to the bottom of problems and to actually fix thing for the future. And I think that as a consequence, kids and those people with disabilities who are in the care of his Government having been the big, big losers.

NICK GRIMM: Meanwhile, organisations which represent people with disabilities are also demanding further action.

KEVIN COCKS: Sadly, once again, vulnerable people are left exposed to those who have primary interests in making money.

NICK GRIMM: Kevin Cocks from Queensland Advocacy says these new allegations fit a wider pattern of abuse of the vulnerable in the state's institutions.

KEVIN COCKS: The Minister's response is that they have taken action, but I think that it has been slow, and I have been brought to my attention that there are allegations that departmental officers as far back as two years ago were let known of some of the allegations that have surfaced, and I don't have the power to investigate that, but I hope that is part of what the Minister is investigating.

If her departmental officers have ignored allegations of abuse, and if that's the case, we know people have beenÉ were continued to be placed there after those allegations allegedly were made.

NICK GRIMM: But the Queensland Disabilities Services Minister, Judy Spence, is defending the way the allegations have been handled.

JUDY SPENCE: When we became aware of the serious allegations in July this year, we asked the organisation to stand down their four senior staff members, and they did so, and indeed we provided the organisation with more funding to cover the cost of replacing the four staff members.

So there has been an ongoing investigation that hasn't been completed, and we have taken a number of steps in the last six months to make sure that the services provided by this organisation are quality services.

NICK GRIMM: The allegations are now the subject of not only a police investigation and Disability Services departmental inquiry, but they're also being examined by Queensland's Crime and Misconduct Commission.

And while children have been removed from the facility, adults remain in care there.

Judy Spence again.

JUDY SPENCE: I think it's important to understand that adults who have disabilities are free to choose their own services in this state, we don't have any control over where they live, but we no longer refer anyone to this organisation.

I mean, I don't want to comment too much before we see the results of both the police investigation and the Adult Guardian investigation. I'm concerned about the allegations of course, they are being closely monitored by the Department of Disability Services, and that's all occurred since July of this year, when we were made aware of the seriousness of the allegations against this organisation.

TONY EASTLEY: Queensland's Disability Services Minister, Judy Spence. Nick Grimm with that report.

The World Today - Wednesday, 3 December , 2003 12:36:21 reporter: Nick Grimm

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Central Europe: Mentally ill kept in padlocked, caged beds
Cental Europe: Patients are sometimes locked in cages like the ones above for months or years, says the Budapest based Mental Disability Advocacy Centre Credit: MDAC.

Mentally ill kept in padlocked, caged beds

Cental Europe: Patients are sometimes locked in cages like the ones above for months or years, says the Budapest based Mental Disability Advocacy Centre Credit: MDAC.

Mentally ill patients in central Europe being kept in padlocked, caged beds Katka Krosnar Prague

Mentally ill patients in four central European countries are being kept in padlocked, caged beds despite condemnation of the practice by the European parliament and the United Nations, a patients' organisation said this week.

In some cases patients are locked in such cages for months or years and sometimes not even let out to use the toilet, says the Budapest based Mental Disability Advocacy Centre, which promotes the rights of people with mental health problems.

The countries concerned Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic are due to join the European Union next May. In the Czech Republic some of the patients concerned are children.

Three people have died while being kept in caged beds; in one case last year a 14-year-old Czech girl was fatally injured by a metal bar that fell on her.

"Not only is this practice inhuman and degrading with some patients locked up day and night but it's dangerous too. It is also a real abuse of human rights. We were shocked at the scale of the problem and the justification often given by staff," Oliver Lewis, legal director at the Mental Disability Advocacy Centre, told the BMJ.

Mr Lewis said the widespread use of such beds surrounded by a metal cage, or sometimes enclosed in net, was symptomatic of the wider problems in the provision of mental health care in central Europe, where there is an overemphasis on institutional care and a problem of severe understaffing. It was easier for staff to look after patients if they were locked up than to provide proper, community orientated care, he said.

At a conference to discuss the findings in Prague, one 29-year-old former patient, Michal, told how he had admitted himself to a psychiatric hospital and was immediately drugged and placed in a caged bed for one week without being let out at all. "Instead of helping, my treatment at the hands of people I had trusted made me much worse," he said.

But some Czech doctors and government officials defend the use of caged beds in certain circumstances.

Pavel Boudis, secretary general of the Czech Psychiatrists' Association, said eliminating the beds in the near future "would bring many more problems than advantages."

He highlighted severe understaffing in mental health care, with the staffing level in the Czech Republic at a third the level in other countries.

John Bowis, a European parliament spokesman on health and a former British health minister, called on the four countries to begin eliminating such use. as they were about to join the European Union, where the practice was "unacceptable and totally unnecessary.

By Mental Torture posted 1 December 03