Man jailed for infecting teen with HIV

The District Court in Perth has jailed a 37-year-old man for four years and eight months for infecting a teenage girl with HIV.

For the second time, a jury found Ronald Houghton guilty of infecting the girl by having unprotected sex with her five years ago.

His original conviction had been overturned.

Judge Paul Healy said Houghton had blighted the woman's life by what he had done.

Houghton will have to serve 32 months before he can be considered for parole.

Outside the court, his victim, who is now 23, said she had no option but to take the matter to court.

"I've never heard an apology from him at all which is all what I really wanted," she said.

"I just wanted to have someone say 'look, I'm really sorry, I did a bad thing' and just be able to get on with my life, close that door and move on."

By HIV 16 November 04

Scientists make HIV transfer breakthrough

An international team of scientists believe they have worked out the main way the AIDS virus is passed from men to women during sex.

The scientists, led by Professor Robin Offord from the University of Geneva, hope to use the research to develop a treatment to combat the virus.

Around the world, heterosexual sex has become the most common way in which HIV is spread. Now, scientists have identified a specific part of the cells lining a woman's vagina that HIV binds to during infection.

For animal tests, they developed a chemical that blocked this gateway and so prevented the virus from entering the cells. The tests were conducted in a small group of macaque monkeys. Human trials are still some way off, but the scientists hope they could lead to the development of a HIV-blocking cream.

By Professor Rat 15 October 04

Prison needle cleansing programme

Disinfecting Tablets

The Department of Health and the Prison Service appeared to be at odds last night over a needle cleansing programme designed to protect prisoners from blood-borne infections such as HIV and hepatitis.

From April 1, inmates, [prisoners], will be given disinfecting tablets similar to those used for sterilising babies' bottles. But health department officials said last night that cleansing tablets were not the best way to protect against the transmission of diseases.

"I don't think we would encourage this [needle-cleaning] as being as effective as the issuing of sterile needles," said a spokesman. "We don't recommend it. We regard the needle-exchange programmes in place throughout the whole of the [health] system as the most effective way of reducing blood-borne diseases."

A disinfecting scheme was first tried in 1995, but was later withdrawn for safety reasons.

Doctors and drug-user support groups have also challenged the move, claiming that a needle exchange scheme would be safer and more effective.

Critics claim ministers fear that the introduction of a needle exchange scheme would be a tacit admission of the scale of the drugs problem in prisons.

"There is no foolproof way of cleaning injection equipment - it is easy to get the cleaning process wrong," said Michael Linnell of Lifeline, a drugs support agency. "You could be encouraging people to share because they think the equipment has been cleaned. That increases the risk of spreading blood-borne viruses."

The Guardian has obtained a copy of Prison Service instructions on the scheme issued to governors, including those in private jails.

It says the new policy aims to combat "the spread of HIV and other blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis, [which] are readily spread when drug users share contaminated injecting equipment".

It points out that that "similar arrangements [for cleaning needles] have worked well in Scottish prisons since 1993".

The Prison Service says the scheme was approved by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which was asked to design a strategy for the reintroduction of disinfecting tablets at all penal establishments.

The school believes that a tablets pilot scheme tested at 11 prisons between 1998 and 1999 was successful, and that the scheme should operate in all prisons. The home secretary, David Blunkett, has accepted its advice.

Last night a spokesman for the Department of Health said it was not opposed to the cleansing scheme in prisons. "Whilst it is acknowledged in the community at large that needle exchange programmes are an effective method, there are drawbacks to similar schemes in institutional environments," it said.

But a consultant in tropical and blood-borne diseases in the north-west of England said needle cleaning was less efficient than needle exchange.

"A needle exchange programme has been in place in Manchester for far longer than in some other cities," he said. "That is almost certainly the reason why Manchester has a lower prevalence of the spread of blood-borne diseases than areas which started similar schemes much later."

A GP who practises in an area with a high rate of heroin use added:

"Disinfectant tablets may prevent the spread of some skin diseases, but are unlikely to combat blood-borne viruses effectively."

By Eric Allison, prisons correspondent posted 4 March 04

Related:

England tops the EU in imprisonment
England and Wales jail more offenders per capita than any other European, Union country, according to new figures. The imprisonment rate of 141 per 100,000 makes the countries the prison capital of Europe for the second year running.

Don't put mothers behind bars
If we are to arrest the soaring prison suicide rate among women, we need to look at alternative punishment.

UK Prison Abuse: Guards Holding Nooses
'We will kill you. We will get away with it... we've done it before' Prisoners tell of hanging threats by officers holding nooses.

K K K in the UK
In the documentary it is alleged an officer dressed in a Ku Klux Klan mask at a training centre in north-west England. An undercover reporter from the BBC also claimed to have taped racist comments by some officers.

Suicides and unrest have soared, admits Home Office
UK:The already overcrowded prison population is set to go on rising and will top 80,000 within the next three years, a senior Home Office civil servant warned yesterday.

My Sarah was smart and talented - Why did she die in jail?
LONDON: Sarah Campbell was just 18 when she killed herself [? committed suicide,] one of seven women to die in jail this year. Our correspondent asks why so many women kill themselves in prison [? commit suicide in prison.]

QANTAS drug testing: Pooping on people?

People are in different classes. What class are you in?

Some people struggle more than others do in order to survive. People take drugs to get through their life. Whether it's illegal or not has no bearing on what an employee can do for you as an employer.

Does your employee criticise you for cutting a corner in order for you his employer to make a profit?

In the gamble of life you take the good with the bad and the results can easily be seen. If there are no results then your employer will go broke. Based on your work performance your employer can sack you or keep you on depending on what you can do for the company. You can tell nine times out of ten if your employee is drunk on the job. Or stoned out of his/her mind and won't perform.

So what is the problem? Police, politicians, workers, and bosses are all stressed at some point. Better to admit what is real and call a spade a spade and let people get on with the job.

Zero tolerance is a contradiction within itself because a human being is not infallible and therefore a human being can only do their best.

Do not judge what a person has to do in order to survive.

Ageing causes people to respond. You're on a rock face in reality. Wind, rain, sun and waves crashing around you breaking you down slowly. Even the air you breathe is eating your internal organs away. Humanity accuses people of judging others so who are you to be the judge?

Employers have been accused of jumping the gun by introducing drug and alcohol testing programs while neglecting other issues that could impair a worker's performance, such as fatigue.

Fatigue may be correct but this statement indirectly attempts to cover up the reality of employers who may take drugs. People don't want to be seen as having to depend on drugs for medicinal purposes.

What about the employers own performance excuse me? Do the employers who wish to introduce this testing intend to test themselves first to see whether they're qualified to judge their employees?

If you want to introduce drug testing it has to be across the board starting from the top Prime Minister down. In that order because the ministers are leading us by example. Then there would be a need to go into the High Court of Australia and the bureaucracy, on to police and medical and then trickling down to the common class of workers.

If you're not prepared to have this type of reform then who are you 'Qantas' to be the Judge?

A drug testing specialist, Judith Perl, a forensic pharmacologist with NSW Police, said she expected many employers to follow companies such as Qantas in introducing schemes in an effort to meet obligations under occupational health and safety laws.

Is this Qantas or John Howard?

Qantas plans to trial random drug and alcohol testing in Sydney later this month, but is facing strong union criticism about the potential for discrimination and privacy breaches.

Dr Perl said occupational health and safety changes were putting company bosses in a position to ensure that there was a safe working environment.

"They are all jumping the gun and saying, 'Well, let's drug test'," Dr Perl said.

"They will be thinking if they are seen as doing something, that makes for a safe environment. But they neglect things that are in the too-hard basket, like fatigue."

Over the next three days Qantas employees will attend briefings by union officials about random urine- and breath-testing.

Qantas expects to test about 5 per cent of its 35,000-strong workforce each year once the program is fully operational.

Ten unions are involved in the campaign against the program. They say they do not oppose drug and alcohol testing to prevent and determine impairment, but they are concerned that the trial will force workers to reveal use of prescription medicines or over-the-counter drugs.

The assistant national secretary of the Australian Services Union, Linda White, said the tests would pick up whether workers took HIV or IVF medication or Viagra.

"People don't think that that's any business of their employer," Ms White said. "People are concerned that there's a privacy issue."

But a spokesman for Qantas, Michael Sharp, said it would not test for HIV and IVF medication or Viagra. It was only interested in three types of drugs depressants, stimulants and hallucinogens - and thresholds (such as a 0.02 blood-alcohol level) would apply.

He said the program emphasised education and rehabilitation, with staff testing positive to undergo counselling and return a negative test before they returned to work.

"We respect all employees rights to privacy the focus of it always has been our commitment to safety on the ground and in the air," Mr Sharp said.

By Medicinal Purposes Workplace Reporter 5 August 03

THE BIRD: Why did you take that drug? Because it was there and because it relieved my tension. Some people take to the bottle to find solace because it removes tension. Tension that could otherwise cause a company to go broke. We respect all employers right to privacy as long as the drug testing starts with the employers CEO's and is not discriminatory in that Prime Minister John Howard is tested as well as everybody else. Otherwise you could be judging others without judging yourself.

That's not fair. Your have an expectation about what others should do but not what you have done yourself. How do you rate?

Related:

Alcohol Abuse: You're one of my kind?
Special Minister of state John Della Bosca says there is only a small percentage of people who are alcoholics, but that small percentage has a disproportionate impact on their own health and costs to society. Small percentage? Excuse me? Do I need a calculator? Or do I need a new set of eyes? According to the statistics at least two million people abuse alcohol?

Australia: Wine glut alert?
Wine glut alerts bank to grape grower debt and we need to be aware there's no magic bullet here either, it is a chronic condition just like the other one? You know, Abra Cadabra.

Australian Alcohol Abuse: Abra Cadabra, I want to reach out and grab ya No magic bullet? This is a chronic condition! Government's Legal Drug Alcohol is costing Australia billions: study. Alcohol-related incidents cost the Australian taxpayer more than $7 billion in a single year. Of that sum, $2 billion arose from loss of life, pain and suffering. The report says in 1998 alone more than 2,000 Australians died from alcohol abuse.

Drug law blamed for hep C epidemic
THE federal Government's conservative tough-on-drugs policies have triggered an explosion in hepatitis C infections, a secret health department report has found. And the disease has become an "epidemic", with half a million Australians likely to have the debilitating virus by 2020.

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.

Medicinal cannabis trial approved or not marijuana still remains a big hit! THE nation's first trial of cannabis for medical relief will begin in NSW by the end of the year, a move that Premier Bob Carr said yesterday would stop decent people feeling like criminals.

CWA wants pot legalised
PERCEIVED as the height of conservatism, the Country Women's Association has had a reputation for baking and handicrafts until now. The organisation yesterday confirmed it is seeking to have cannabis legalised for health reasons. A recommendation to be put forward to the annual meeting in May calls for the legalisation of the drug for the treatment of terminally ill patients.

Drunks propel rise in violent crimes! But who promotes drinking really?
Every day NSW police deal with more than 300 violent offences committed by people who are drunk and they say the number is rising. But they don't say because the government promotes alcohol and only alcohol.

Another lethal party drug article...
This is another lethal party drug article by the Daily Telegraph's (DT)'s Super Crime Buster Division, but I'll try to straighten it out a bit so you can understand it.

Poison Ivy: Drugs and Substances
Everything is a drug love, money, vegemite, and honey so why the hang up on coke? Things go better with Coke. at least that's what we're told each and every day by advertising. [?] So why the big hang up on alcohol, amphetamines, cigarettes, marijuana, speed, ecstasy and cocaine?

Police selling drugs? Bikies selling drugs? Pharmacies prescribing drugs Of course there will be criticism when you cross that thin blue line! You have to realise how the government itself has been corrupted because of the drug scene and the money involved.

Drug rehabilitation: Threats, threats and more threats!
But a spokesperson for Citizens Against Being Forced Mr Ihave Amind Ofmyown said, "Major Watters is John Howard's adviser because he's a bully. Citizens make their own decisions about what is best for them and if you don't like that step down."

MPs told of police corruption
Corruption and mismanagement are still entrenched in the NSW Police, and problems at the highest levels are "whitewashed", according to evidence given yesterday to a federal parliamentary committee.

Alcohol is just the beginning
People who start using alcohol by their mid teens are more than twice as likely as others to experiment with different drugs and to become dependent on drugs a major Australian study has found.

Tobacco, alcohol top the drug abuse toll
Tobacco and alcohol accounted for 83 per cent of the cost of drug abuse in Australia, dwarfing the financial impact of illegal drugs, a Commonwealth Government report has found.

NSW police cracked up on antisocial behaviour
Hundreds of extra police will be on the streets of Sydney from this afternoon as part of a major blitz on crime and activities as "antisocial behaviour" says the ABC online last Fri 24 May 2002.

Alcohol pickles your brain
The only two social drugs the Government sanction are cigarettes and alcohol as legal, yet they cause the most damage." He said.

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.

They use the post exposure administration of anti-retrovirals as a hook for the media but can't really draw any conclusions about that from their dataset. Mostly the study focuses on Hep C seroconversion of the prisoners they followed up in the study.

If the paper has anything to say it is that IV drug using NSW prisoners are at very high risk of contracting serious bloodborne infections and that health officials know it.

Hardly news. However the fact that CHS are using large scale interventions and follow ups in some cases they detect, albeit with treatments of unknown effectiveness, is presumably meant to reassure us that they are taking great care to prevent major outbreaks.

The article does not mention proven cost effective methods of infection control such as peer drug education or needle-syringe programs.

Oh well, as long as DCS continue to pursue policies which facilitate the spread of bloodborne infection in NSW prisons I guess there will be a conveniently organised pool of guineapigs for studies such as these. And there's nothing like putting the fear of AIDS into a prisoner when you are seeking 'volunteers' for 'treatments which might reduce risk of infection' and subsequent follow up studies.

Correction:

"We have documented hepatitis C transmission in the prison setting, probably related to sharing of injecting equipment. Possible prevention measures that might be implemented include needle and syringe exchange programs, which are the community standard."

I guess the point it doesn't make strongly enough is that given these two *detected* cases of potential HIV (and actual HCV) transmission in the NSW prison system in a single month, how many potential BBCD transmissions are undetected (and therefore, untreated with post exposure prophylaxis or anything else)?

The revelation that "Inmates were initially provided with a four-week course of PEP, but it became evident that some were trading the PEP for other commodities" seems to strongly suggest that there are prisoners who believe they may have been exposed to HIV but are unable to access CHS preventative therapies.

Seems to underline the argument that effective BBCD control measures need to emphasise participation by prisoners themselves, as DCS and CHS will only ever have access to a small part of the story.

By Michael Strutt Posted 3 Jun 2003

Related:

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' In order to begin on a reasonable note in our relationship we have been patient. Today the Chief of Staff said that "rehabilitation" was included as a role for prison, alongside deterrence and retribution. [? Retribution until the prisoners' are released?]

Carr's Castle the real story H.R.M.U.The High Risk Management Unit Goulburn Correctional Centre The Australian Institute of Criminology's Standard Guidelines for Corrections in Australia - 1996 just don't cover the Goulburn HRMU according to Mr Ron Woodham Commissioner of Corrective Services. The High Risk Management Unit (HRMU) is the centrepiece of a major $22M redevelopment of Goulburn Correctional Centre.

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".

Victims decide fate of killers? Northern Territory Gov't
The families of murder victims could be asked if they think the killer should be released in a report being prepared by the NT Government Northern Territory News 12 April 03.

'Old guard dog' dig in heels on NSW Govt front bench - The rolling of the filthy heads... The New South Wales Premier is yet to convince at least one of his long-standing ministers to stand aside to make way for new blood on the front bench.

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.

Justice Action criticises Govt's victim voice policy
Victims are not being properly considered in compensation and no expression is given to them, of community goodwill. A spokesperson for Justice Action Mr Brett Collins said, "No community expression or concern is given to the victims of crime. They feel their pain is not acknowledged by the government which tries to balance pain against pain. Never! The community is being misled."

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.

Coalition proposes to exploit children
The Coalition says it would reform juvenile justice in New South Wales to require the courts to "get tough" on juvenile crime.

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.

Fiona Stanley, the children's crusader
It is all about prevention. As Fiona Stanley sees it, with one in five Australian teenagers experiencing significant mental health problems, there are just not enough treatment services to cope with the demand.

Attempted thong theft costs $560
A man has been fined $500 after appearing in a northern New South Wales court charged with stealing a pair of thongs.

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.

Academic devises scheme for low income earners to pay back fines:
A professor at the Australian National University [another one of John Howard's hand picked losers like Peter Saunders the social services head-kicker has come up with a scheme which could see low income earners pay back criminal fines over a period of time.

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.

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.

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.]

The Thai Drug Users' Network is a group of individuals who use or have used drugs

We have come together to respond to the deplorable health and human rights situation of drug users in our country, and in particular the current climate of fear caused by the extrajudicial killing of people allegedly involved with drugs.

The HIV and hepatitis epidemics in our community are out of control, yet the public health response has been negligible. Many of our friends have died because of a lack of information about health, or the denial of care and treatment.

We are rejected by our families and friends and discriminated against in the legal system - society treats us as criminals, not human beings. The lack of accurate information about drugs in the media and elsewhere leads to severe misunderstanding among the public and ultimately to debilitating stigmatization. We reject the idea that our lives are worthless and that drug users are disposable

We believe in the power of the people, and are committed to putting our energy and experience together to address the needs of our community, and to push the government and non-government agencies to confront the barriers to equal rights for drug users.

Today we demand the government to:

1. Immediately stop the killing. Repeal laws and policies that allow people to be murdered with impunity. Conduct investigations into all prior deaths under the government's War on Drugs.

2. Immediately ensure the involvement of drug users (active and former) in the development of all policies and programs that affect our lives.

3. Conduct public education campaigns which promote a positive awareness about the realities of drug use and desist from using a Just Say No approach.

4. Create a supportive social, political and legal environment for the implementation of and access to a range of quality harm reduction programs to address the diverse needs of drug users, including the provision of clean needles.

5. Repeal mandatory HIV testing and compulsory drug treatment laws. Drug users must have access to voluntary HIV counseling and testing services and be supported to enter drug treatment at will.

6. Cover the cost of drug treatment, including substitution, antiretroviral and other relevant therapies, under our national health plan.

7. Remove discrimnatory policy and practice, which currently prohibits active drug users from accessing health care and treatment including antiretroviral therapy.

8. Provide health and social services that are gender sensitive and incorporate the needs of the family and community as well as the individual.

By Thai Drug Users Network posted 10 April 03

Chiang Mai
Contact: Nong 09-811-6406,
Wut 01-909-5341,
Wee 01-700-5288

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Amnesty urges Bush to shut death row
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