Alice prisoners riot

Alice Springs Correctional Centre superintendent Peter Rainbird would not say why prisoners had staged the riot.

But he said guards would consult prisoners about concerns in the jail.

The Territory's jail rate is 580 per 100,000 people compared to the national average of 154 per 100,000.

Mick - It's hot - the food is shit and there are next to no rehabilitive programs. I read all the books before my eight days were up. Borrowed more from inmates. Besides all that - most mob shouldn't be in there.

- You could release most of the NT prisoners safely

How the hell are they coping in the heat with a piss-bucket for company?

By Just Us posted 18 November 05

Jail lockdown as riot rages

A TERRITORY jail was locked down yesterday as maximum security prisoners rioted.

Inmates in the reception area of Alice Springs jail's maximum security section barricaded doors and set fire to mattresses about 10am.

Guards responded by locking the jail down and rushing to the area, clearing the prisoners and putting out the fires within an hour.

Eight prisoners involved in the riot were taken to isolation cells.

Alice Springs Correctional Centre superintendent Peter Rainbird would not say why prisoners had staged the riot.

But he said guards would consult prisoners about concerns in the jail.

Supt Rainbird would not say which prisoners were involved in the riot but confirmed it would be investigated and jail procedures would be reviewed.

"Once we finish the investigation we will be able to deal with the issues,'' he said.

NT Police also will investigate the riot and may lay charges of criminal damage against the prisoners.

Firefighters were called out but the fires had been extinguished when they arrived.

The jail's maximum security unit remained in lockdown last night.

"There was only superficial damage caused,'' Supt Rainbird said.

"Public safety was not compromised at the time.'' He described the incident as "moderately serious''.

By ERIC TLOZEK 16nov05

NT Prisons - Close to boiling point
"PRISONERS threatened to riot at Darwin jail after complaining about overcrowding and the quality of food, it was learnt yesterday."

NT Prison stats

Related:

The journalist who's facing gaol for talking to a prisoner
BRISBANE: Journalist and documentary-maker Anne Delaney would probably rather be working on her latest project than sitting in the Inala magistrate's court, facing a possible two year stretch in a Queensland gaol.

Pentridge Prison Memorial
*Ricky Morris* 29/10/2005-18 Years Later "Thinking Of You And Missing You" Gone But Never Forgotten. It all started back in May-05 when I decided to do a website on the memory of my brother 'Ricky' and that's when it all began for myself a journey I never imagined. From that date forward to this I have received a lot of information and spoken to all sorts of people from high up to general people whom either knew nothing or some that knew it all.

Darwin prison riot threat alert
PRISONERS threatened to riot at Darwin jail after complaining about overcrowding and the quality of food, it was learnt yesterday.

New rules in Goulburn prison
The following outline is provided as a guide to ensure a consistent and effective approach in dealing with charges and applying sanctions applicable to failed urine tests.

Custody as the challenge to corrections
Despite their problematic nature, however, recidivism figures do not suggest that the prison component of a sentence improves prospects for deterrence or rehabilitation, by comparison with other sentencing options.

'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.

NEW INDEPENDENT RISDON PRISON REPORT
Justice Action and Prison Action & Reform are not satisfied with the review and will present an independent report to Parliament in August, based upon interviews with prisoners, prison staff and concerned community members.

Prisoner total rises 15% in six years
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Adler punished for being in prison
NSW: Sydney businessman Rodney Adler has been transferred to a higher-security prison as punishment for allegedly attempting to conduct business activities from jail even though people are sent to prison for punishment not to be punished?

Department of Corrective Services fails to rehabilitate offenders
NSW: Unpopular people will be forced to wear tracking devices at a cost of $5,000 dollars per unit because the NSW Department of Corrective Services failed to rehabilitate those offenders at a cost of $65,000 a year while they were held in custody for many years.

Parole Board Membership
NSW: The Law Society is aware that two former long standing police officers Mr Robert Inkster, an Mr Peter Walsh, were appointed to the Parole Board as Community Members for a period of three years from 17 January 2005 until 16 January 2008.

Corrected or Corrupted
A psychiatrist from the prison Mental Health Team attached to Queensland Health made the comment that 25 per cent of inmates suffer from a diagnosed mental illness.

Tasmanian prison support visit
Prisoners from Risdon Prison and Prison Action & Reform (PAR) in Tasmania have requested support from the Australian Prisoners Union and Justice Action following the siege in the prison ending on May 9.

Prison Action & Reform challenge the Attorney General
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.

Tasmania PAR banned from Risdon
Since then, she and other PAR volunteers, have brought to the public's attention scandalous and inhumane events that have occurred in the prison - which Judy Jackson would have otherwise covered up.

Chronology of a Tasmanian Prison System: A Documented Report
We believe that the people of Tasmania - both victims of crime and the general public - have the right to know that the Tasmania Prison Service is delivering a humane and just system of containment that is conducive to the reintegration of inmates back into Tasmanian society.

Association for the Prevention of Torture
The Optional Protocol requires 20 ratifications to enter into force. All States Parties to the UN Convention against Torture should seriously consider ratifying the OPCAT as soon as possible. National Institutions and others promoting the human rights of people deprived of their liberty need to be informed of their potential role as national preventive mechanisms under the OPCAT.

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.

MISTREATED IN CUSTODY - NO ACCOUNTABILTY
I was in custody in NSW six weeks ago, and was a victim of an aggravated assault incited by a prison officer. Despite this happening in front of many witnesses, including correctional services officers and other detainees, and under mandatory video surveillance, a formal complaint to the NSW Commissioner of Corrective Services an his Professional Conduct Management Committee only revealed that as far as they were concerned, this didn't happen.

ICOPA XI International Conference on Penal Abolition
We are excited to announce that ICOPA X1, the eleventh International Conference on Penal Abolition will happen in Tasmania, Australia from February 9 - 11,2006. Please pass this onto all networks.

Ex-Prisoner Locked Out of Prison
The NSW Department of Corrective Services (DCS) has revealed a policy which bans ex-prisoners from entering prisons.

Justice Action: Access to our community
NSW: Justice Action went to the NSW Supreme Court before the last Federal election on the constitutional right for prisoners to receive information for their vote. The government avoided the hearing by bringing prisoners' mobile polling booths forward. We pursued it after the election. This is the report.

Risdon prisoners' seize prison to protest mistreatment
Apparently one prisoner had been mistreated and held in isolation in an SHU (Segregation Housing Unit) [Solitary Confinement] because, he'd had and altercation with a screw. SHUs cause severe mental harm - regarded as torture - and are a cruel, inhumane and degrading way to keep prisoners.

No Safe Place
In a brief four month span from August 1999, five men died in Tasmania's Risdon prison. Their deaths have put the state's corrections system in the dock and led to the planned demolition of a jail which even the State's Attorney-General now calls an "appalling facility".

MORE PRISONERS LOCKDOWNS HAVE OFFICERS ON EDGE
NSW POLICE Commissioner Ken Moroney has issued an ultimatum as well, to the lawless youths holding Sydney's streets to ransom?: Learn some respect or face jail?

Tough line on crime fills jails
The tough law-and-order policies of governments around the nation are behind an explosion in the prison population by almost 80 per cent in the past two decades.

FAMILIES OF PRISONERS FORUM
14,500 children in NSW go to bed each night with a parent in prison!

LEGAL VISITS AT PARKLEA PRISON
I am a prisoner in NSW and I am currently held in Parklea Prison. I am concerned about what is going on in NSW prisons and this is my story.

Parklea Prison: No calls for six days
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Prison visits in crisis in NSW
The reason I am writing today is to address a difficult situation that my husband and my family are going through. My husband is currently serving a sentence at Lithgow Correctional Centre in NSW.

Prison boom will prove a social bust
Hardened criminals are not filling NSW's prisons - the mentally ill and socially disadvantaged are, writes Eileen Baldry.

The prison system requires assiduous oversight
As NSW Attorney General Bob Debus noted in 1996: "The kinds of complaints which occur in the system may seem trivial to outsiders but in the superheated world of the prison, such issues can produce explosive results."

Where the Norm is Not the Norm: HARM-U
In the absence of public policy, this paper is an attempt to shine a light through the rhetoric and test for coherency in the policy and function of NSW’s only supermax prison, the High Risk Management Unit. Its present use will be compared with the ‘vision’ flogged by the Premier and the Department of Corrective Services (the Department) at its inception in 2001.

Crime and Punishment
Mark Findlay argues that the present psychological approach to prison programs is increasing the likelihood of re-offending and the threat to community safety.

People: 'Prisoners' of Drugs'
People who are addicted to heroin usually take the drug because it relieves them of problems such as low self-esteem, distrust and fear of abandonment. They may have poor communication skills & poor relationship skills.

Justice Denied In NSW Corrective Services
There used to be a (VJ) or Visiting Justice who would go into the prison and judge any claim or accusation that was made by any prisoner or prison guard. If it were found that a prisoner had offended then punishment was metered out.

Prison guards test positive for drugs
NSW prison visitors banned from using the toilet The visit is only for about one hour and any thing less than that is an insult. If it's proved that a visitor has broken the rules the punishment should apply to them. But collective punishment on all visitors should not be made general when others haven't broken the rules especially if it restricts all visitors from normal human needs like using a toilet.

NSW prison visitors banned from using the toilet
The New South Wales Government has introduced several initiatives to stop contraband getting into prisons they said last Friday. But under the guise of "stricter rules" the department had also introduced banning all visitors including children from using the toilet unless they terminate their visit at any NSW prison after using the toilet.

Solitary Confinement: Our very own Alcatraz
Solitary confinement only makes prisoners more violent and inhumane, writes convicted armed robber Bernie Matthews. Today it is the new-age gladiator schools of sensory deprivation in Maximum Security Units.

Watchdogs slaughtered in NSW
On Tuesday the Carr Government reduced transparency and accountability yet again and New South Wales is in danger of becoming entrenched with cronyism and intimidations with the Carr Labor Government that continues to slaughter the watchdogs. Posted by NSW Community News

Teaching role for prison staff urged in report

UK: Prison officers should play a greater role in the education of inmates to prevent reoffending, says an academic report published today. The report marks the first time that uniformed staff, who normally have little involvement in prisoner education, have been consulted at length.

The government spent £122m on prison education last year to try to cut reoffending rates. But more than half of the prison population of almost 78,000 people still have a reading age of 11 or below.

The prison service contracts out education all work to public and private sector providers. But the report, called Wings of Learning, from the centre for crime and justice studies at King's College London, found these organisations lacked experience and had a high staff turnover, and that there was a wide gulf between "old and new guard" prison staff.

The Learning and Skills Council now runs education in jail. The report says that confusion caused by several changes in organisations running education services has worried staff and managers.

It also shows that just 20% of the staff are women and only 4.12% of officers are from black or ethnic minority groups. While most staff say their job begins and ends with security, others claim they have utilised their talents and qualifications. Phil Wheatley, the director general of the prison service, said the report was helpful in "giving a voice ... to frontline staff".

By Eric Allison posted 4 November 05

Related:

A long stretch
UK: As head of prisons for England and Wales, Martin Narey tried to improve life for people on the inside. One of those inmates was Erwin James, then serving a life sentence. Now, as Narey leaves his job after a career spanning three decades, the two men meet and discuss the many problems still facing Britain's jails.

Prison officers responsible for smuggling into jails
Fresh Home Office research also confirmed the extent of abuse in prisons yesterday, and suggested that prison staff were one route for drugs to get in. The study found that smuggling by uniformed or civilian staff was thought to be "substantially increasing" the availability of heroin and cannabis behind bars.

Plea to release Biggs rejected by ruling-class
UK: Home Secretary Charles Clarke has rejected a plea by Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs to be released from prison on compassionate grounds.

Prisons chief hits at 'gross' overcrowding
Martin Narey, a civil servant who has served every Home Secretary since 1989, highlights statistics showing that thousands of mentally ill inmates and a record number of children now constitute a significant part of the prison population.

Clarke faces a fight over probation overhaul
UK: The home secretary, Charles Clarke, yesterday confirmed his plans to abolish 42 local probation boards and instead create "a vibrant mixed economy" in the management of 200,000 offenders in the community.

The devilish advocate
UK: The devilish advocate John Hirst taught himself law in jail, and has never lost a case against the prison service. Erwin James meets up again with the former 'lifer' who won inmates the right to vote.

Racism still rife in jails, five years after the murder of Zahid Mubarek UK: The prison service will be strongly criticised for continued racial discrimination against ethnic minority inmates by the official report from the Zahid Mubarek inquiry.

UK prisoners should get vote, European court rules
UK: Laws setting out who can and cannot take part in elections are to be rewritten after the European court of human rights today ruled in favour of giving British prisoners the right to vote.

Prison plan 'will cut reoffending'
UK: A network of community prisons to help cut the number of criminals who re-offend has been outlined by Home Secretary Charles Clarke.

Clarke to scrap plan to peg prison numbers
UK: The home secretary, Charles Clarke, has said he is to abandon his predecessor's aspiration of pegging the prison population in England and Wales at 80,000. He will also drop plans to put a legal obligation on the judges' sentencing guidelines council to take the size of the prison population - currently 77,000 and rising - into account when laying down the "going rate" for major crimes.

Crowded jails 'boosting suicides'
UK: The chief inspector of prisons warned that an overcrowding crisis in Britain's jails was leading to an increase in prisoner suicides.

Chief justice calls for new approach to law and order
UK: The retiring [ruling class] lord chief justice, Lord Woolf, made a passionate plea for a new approach to law and order which would see a major shift away from punishment towards the solution of problems which generate crime.

Britain's only prison ship ends up on the beach
UK: The last inmates have departed and a skeleton staff is left guarding Britain's only prison ship - in case anyone is minded to break in rather than out.

Throw away the key
The one profession to get results on recidivism has been sacrificed to Labour's desire to lock up criminals in private prisons.

Judges' misdeeds will remain secret
UK: Judges who are disciplined for bad behaviour will not have the findings against them made public under a complaints regime to be launched next year.

Prisoner total rises 15% in six years
England and Wales are continuing to jail offenders at a higher rate than any other major country in western Europe, it emerged today. New research indicates that the government's use of prison as its main tool of penal policy has increased by 15% since 1999.

CPS drops prosecution over death in custody
UK: The family of Roger Sylvester, who died after being restrained by police officers, yesterday expressed their disappointment at a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service not to prosecute any of the officers involved.

Prisoner's cell death
UK: A prisoner was found hanged in his cell last week, the Home Office said, fuelling criticism over the soaring number of suicides in custody.

Plans for five new 'superprisons'
Recent figures show a total of 75,550 prisoners were held in 139 jails in England and Wales, nudging up the previous record of April 2004 by just six inmates.

Prison has lost its way - report
UK: Bristol prison is suffering wide-ranging problems because of inconsistent management, the Chief Inspector of Prisons has said.

Row over acupuncture for prisoners
UK: The Home Office has responded to criticism over prison inmates who are being offered acupuncture on the NHS in order to relieve stress.

Number of prisoners sent back to jail trebles
UK: The number of prisoners being sent back to jail after release has nearly trebled in the past five years, according to a report published today.

Top judge says crowded prisons cannot break cycle of crime
UK: Reoffending rates after a prison sentence are at an "unacceptably high level" and the failure of the criminal justice system to stop prisoners reoffending should shock the public, England's top judge, [Ruling Class] Lord Woolf, said last week.

All the World's a Prison: History
No doubt many of my readers, even those who are well-educated or widely read, think that the prison -- the place where dark deeds are darkly answered[2] -- is an ancient institution, a barbaric hold-over from barbaric times. In fact, the prison is of relatively recent origin, and this tells us a great deal about the pretentions and realities of modern times, and the wisdom and high degree of development of the ancients.

Decade after inspector left in disgust, report tells of filth
UK: Dirty, mice-infested cells, high levels of self-harm, and widespread bullying over drugs and medications were just some of the damning findings of a report into conditions at Holloway, Britain's largest women's prison.

Most women 'should not be jailed'
Women make up 6% of the prison population in England and Wales. Imprisonment of women should be "virtually abolished", a prison reform group has said.

Youth 'murdered for officers' pleasure'
UK: An Asian teenager was murdered by a white racist after they were placed in the same cell as part of a game to fulfil the "perverted pleasure" of prison officers, a public inquiry heard on Friday.

Deaths in isolation as prison segregation increases
The use of segregation [solitary confinement] of prisoners as punishment has been increasing recently in Australia, the US, and the UK. Segregation can be used for protection or punishment, but in both cases it results in extreme psychological stress. An indication that segregation is being over-used is the appearance of deaths in custody from suicide of those placed in segregation.

Inquest blames jail for overdose death
UK: An inquest jury returned a verdict itemising a catalogue of faults at Styal prison in Cheshire, concluding that the prison's "failure of duty of care" contributed to the death of Sarah Campbell, 18, who took an overdose of tablets on the first day of her three-year sentence.

Put in the way of self-harm in a place intended to protect others
UK: Sarah Campbell, 18, spent the last hours of her life in the segregation unit of Styal prison, Cheshire. "The seg", as those places are referred to, used to be known as "the block", short for punishment block. [ Seg is a bullshit word for Punishment, Solitary Confinement, Torture, Mental Illness, Self-Harm, Human Rights Abuse and that is State Terror.]

Britain 'sliding into police state'
The home secretary, Charles Clarke, is transforming Britain into a police state, one of the country's former leading anti-terrorist police chiefs [false flag police chiefs] said yesterday.

UK solitary confinement
UK: Segregation units are prisons within prisons - the places where the most unchecked brutality is meted out to prisoners. In recent years conditions in high security segregation units have deteriorated, and the use of long-term segregation as a control mechanism has increased.

Inquiry must root out prison racists
UK: It is difficult to imagine a more brutal murder than that of Zahid Mubarek. The 19-year-old was clubbed to death by his cellmate at Feltham Young Offender Institution in the early hours of 21 March 2000. He was due to be released just a few hours later.

Prison suicides soar as jails hire 'babysitters'
UK: Prison officers are being taken off suicide watch and replaced by unqualified 'babysitters' because the system is overwhelmed by an epidemic of self-harm.

Plan to sell off juvenile jails as job lot
UK: The government is to put out to tender all its dedicated juvenile jails that hold children under 18 in a departure in Whitehall's privatisation programme.

Failure to sack 'racist' prison staff condemned
UK: Two prison officers suspended for racism are still on full pay three years after a stash of Nazi memorabilia, neo-fascist literature and Ku Klux Klan-inspired 'nigger-hunting licences' was found in a police raid on their home.

Report slams 'unjust' jailing of women on remand
UK: Six out of 10 women sent to jail while they await trial are acquitted or given a non-custodial sentence, a report published today reveals. Introducing the report, Lady Kennedy QC calls for a complete review of the use of remand and bail for women saying it is "inhumane and unjust".

Concern as UK prison suicides hit record level
UK: More prisoners took their own lives in English jails in August than in any other month since records began, prison reformers said today.

End of years of despair as Holloway closes its doors
But now Holloway prison in north London - where Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in Britain, was hanged in 1955 - has been earmarked for closure, along with several other women's prisons, which have been hit by a spate of suicides.

How detox and self-help brought suicide jail back from the brink
UK: Six suicides in 12 months made Styal jail notorious and the Prisons Ombudsman criticised the prison and its staff for serious failures. But things are changing.

Belmarsh detainees consider suicide, says freed man
UK: The first of the Muslim detainees released from Belmarsh high security prison after being held on suspicion of terrorism has told the Guardian his fellow prisoners are suffering such severe mental problems that they constantly consider suicide.

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.

England tops the EU in imprisonment
England and Wales jail more offenders per capita than any other European, Union country, according to new figures.

WA/ Satellite Surveillance

Dear Friends and fellow stakeholders,

Re : Satellite Tracking of offenders of serious crime released to community supervision.

AUSTRALIA: WA: It is understandable that the Minister for Justice is looking towards a surveillance program. His department have failed him and need to be constantly under his watchful eye and surveillance of their own key performance indicators.

However, his proposal for using high tech satellite tracking of specific types of offenders in WA could be seen as just another attempt to produce a 'tough on crime' vote winner. Such new technologies always look good on paper. Then comes the serious questions. How does one effectively police it, and will it really act as a deterrent?

Then there is the cost of establishing and maintaining such an operation over one of the largest single jurisdictions in the world. We also need to ask if this plan has been discussed among other government departments such as Police, Family and Childrens' Services, the Aboriginal Policy Unit - and the independent judiciary? Should not the offender be presenting as a low risk to the community when they leave the prison and under the eye of community corrections officers?

Knowing that resistance is strong among perpetrators of Domestic Violence, the further knowledge that someone is looking from far off may not lessen their motivation to be in close proximity to the focus of their attention. And how will police be able to respond? For example, what is going to happen to a person who is living out at Marble Bar or the back of Bruce Rock who is placed on a domestic violence order? By the time that the police get to the scene, the offender may have produced a further victim. Offenders and Victims need real support following the aftermath of crime not pie in the sky Robocop. Surveillance from the sky fails to address violence in the family home.

What we need is a balance here. More surveillance through the support and concerns of Community Corrections officers who need to do more than invite an offender into their office once a week. It takes time and energy, including government resources to challenge offending behaviours, and this and previous governments have failed victims of crime and the community by showing disregard for effective community based and prison programs.

The 'What works' principles have been continually watered down or even neglected in WA, leaving offenders, victims and the community with an Offender management which is itself under review by Justice Mahoney and the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services, and a justice system that seeks the headlines such as this to distract public attention from grass roots failings, high prisoner numbers and a constant stream of dissatisfied victims of crime. The satellite needs to look into the justice department to see what is working and what is not.

We do need to find more support and attention to Strong women's groups and Men's groups, and effective rehabilitation programs that see offenders treated as social beings and not individuals and outcasts from social structures of support. Quality research into this area is essential.

Surveillance techniques will not prevent crime, and will only remove the public gaze from the immediate concerns of a justice system itself requiring constant surveillance.

Brian Steels

A pensioner support group has called upon the state government to provide all other people with the same satellite surveillance programs as the Minister of Justice is supplying to ex-prisoners and serious and career criminals.

Spokeswoman for the group, Ms Killjoy, said that the program will be able to be purchased similarly to the new rent-a-cop.

Ms Killjoy say that 'Under the new surveillance scheme, any housebound partner will be able to keep track via satellite of their errant loved one who may have a desire to call in at a house of ill repute or a local casino". 'It will also assist grandparents who wish to keep an eye on the shortcomings of grandchildren as they wander through shopping centre' Malls say Ms Killjoy, 'and of course, it could help parents who may wish to know just where in the neighbourhood, their prized genetic seeds are being sown at any time of the day or night'.

Under the tag-a-mate scheme, any community minded group can purchase hours of tagging and satellite surveillance time and rumour has it that channel 10 is wishing to purchase the rights to screen some footage live to air.

Spokesman for Road-Toll Express says that it will be able to give truck operators and shipping companies a better idea of where the goods are disappearing to, adding "we have wanted to track our truckies who like to stop in the bush for a long pee for some time. Now we can tell just how long some of those stops are, we can't wait for the day when we can get prints to go with it'.

A corporate sponsor for the Minister, says that his company's chocolate product 'time-out' will seek further sponsors in this innovative program that began life as a prisoner watch-dog. 'The possibilities are endless, you can't believe just how far we can ruin someone's fun and impose havoc on civil liberties - this is just the start'. He went on to say that 'Our next big step is to use surveillance link-ups with home surveillance kits, and a state of the art IT package called bedroom peeps - of course this can't be used by ex prisoners, but everyone else will really get a turn-on!

He did concede to the author that this could go against the kind of thing that some prisoners programs had tried to put a stop to.

Brian Steels with some WA humour on the tag-a-mate@ program.

By Justice Action 29 August 05

Related:

Department of Corrective Services fails to rehabilitate offenders
NSW: Unpopular people will be forced to wear tracking devices at a cost of $5,000 dollars per unit because the NSW Department of Corrective Services failed to rehabilitate those offenders at a cost of $65,000 a year while they were held in custody for many years.

Why We Oppose Home Detention
NSW: Justice Action opposes the use of Home Detention (HD). It damages the family and the home for others without any consideration of the effects, or acknowledgement of the costs. It discriminates by disproportionately effecting women. Families become prison guards to their loved ones, and the home becomes an extension of the State.

Xerox workers to strike over satellite tracking plan
Over 250 Xerox workers will go on strike this morning over plans to use global positioning system technology (GPS) to track them throughout their day.

Dirty jail needles 'spreading hep C'

THOUSANDS of prisoners are exposing themselves to hepatitis C infection by using dirty, resharpened needles, prisoners' advocates say.

In its latest prison newspaper, Just Us, Justice Action is calling for a regulated needle syringe program across all Australian prisons to stem the "rampant" tide of hepatitis C infections.

More than one third of the country's 23,000 prisoners are infected with the disease that affects the liver and causes nausea, fatigue and lethargy, abdominal and back pain, and flu-like symptoms, Justice Action researcher Michael Strutt says in this month's edition.

In New South Wales, it is estimated 68 per cent of women and 40 per cent of men would test positive for hepatitis C, while it is thought half of all prisoners in that state have a history of injecting drug use.

In comparison, just one per cent of the general Australian population carries the disease.

"Almost all of those prisoners will eventually be released to carry the virus back to their communities," Mr Strutt said.

"Around a quarter of prisoners continue in their furtive injecting and hasty cleaning of the hundreds of reused, resharpened, dirty, pitted needles that circulate around the prisons."

Justice Action argues an official needle syringe program is the best and most cost-effective way of combating the problem.

According to the Australian National Council on Drugs, there are 19 official prison needle and syringe programs operating overseas and not one has reported needles being used as a weapon.

About 18,000 copies of Just Us, are being distributed to prisoners across Australia and New Zealand in the next week.

Despite various hurdles to distributing the paper, including initial reluctance from various state corrective services departments to allow the paper into prisons, Justice Action estimates about half of the prison population in the two countries will read it.

The paper carries a mix of articles, letters, poetry by prisoners and a lonely hearts column requesting letters from readers.

Justice Action plans to host the 11th International Conference on Penal Abolition in Tasmania in February next year.

By Saffron Howden 29 August 05

People: 'Prisoners' of Drugs'

People who are addicted to heroin usually take the drug because it relieves them of problems such as low self-esteem, distrust and fear of abandonment. They may have poor communication skills & poor relationship skills.

Related:

Zero intelligence
Muddled thinking over drug use in prisons will help the criminals: Emmanuel Reinert, executive director of Senlis, pointed out: 'This new law will encourage the spread of disease in the penal system and will have serious consequences not only in prisons but on society in general.

Custody as the challenge to corrections
Despite their problematic nature, however, recidivism figures do not suggest that the prison component of a sentence improves prospects for deterrence or rehabilitation, by comparison with other sentencing options.

'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.

NEW INDEPENDENT RISDON PRISON REPORT
Justice Action and Prison Action & Reform are not satisfied with the review and will present an independent report to Parliament in August, based upon interviews with prisoners, prison staff and concerned community members.

Prisoner total rises 15% in six years
England and Wales are continuing to jail offenders at a higher rate than any other major country in western Europe, it emerged today. New research indicates that the government's use of prison as its main tool of penal policy has increased by 15% since 1999.

Adler punished for being in prison
NSW: Sydney businessman Rodney Adler has been transferred to a higher-security prison as punishment for allegedly attempting to conduct business activities from jail even though people are sent to prison for punishment not to be punished?

Department of Corrective Services fails to rehabilitate offenders
NSW: Unpopular people will be forced to wear tracking devices at a cost of $5,000 dollars per unit because the NSW Department of Corrective Services failed to rehabilitate those offenders at a cost of $65,000 a year while they were held in custody for many years.

Parole Board Membership
NSW: The Law Society is aware that two former long standing police officers Mr Robert Inkster, an Mr Peter Walsh, were appointed to the Parole Board as Community Members for a period of three years from 17 January 2005 until 16 January 2008.

Corrected or Corrupted
A psychiatrist from the prison Mental Health Team attached to Queensland Health made the comment that 25 per cent of inmates suffer from a diagnosed mental illness.

Tasmanian prison support visit
Prisoners from Risdon Prison and Prison Action & Reform (PAR) in Tasmania have requested support from the Australian Prisoners Union and Justice Action following the siege in the prison ending on May 9.

Prison Action & Reform challenge the Attorney General
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.

Tasmania PAR banned from Risdon
Since then, she and other PAR volunteers, have brought to the public's attention scandalous and inhumane events that have occurred in the prison - which Judy Jackson would have otherwise covered up.

Chronology of a Tasmanian Prison System: A Documented Report
We believe that the people of Tasmania - both victims of crime and the general public - have the right to know that the Tasmania Prison Service is delivering a humane and just system of containment that is conducive to the reintegration of inmates back into Tasmanian society.

Association for the Prevention of Torture
The Optional Protocol requires 20 ratifications to enter into force. All States Parties to the UN Convention against Torture should seriously consider ratifying the OPCAT as soon as possible. National Institutions and others promoting the human rights of people deprived of their liberty need to be informed of their potential role as national preventive mechanisms under the OPCAT.

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.

MISTREATED IN CUSTODY - NO ACCOUNTABILTY
I was in custody in NSW six weeks ago, and was a victim of an aggravated assault incited by a prison officer. Despite this happening in front of many witnesses, including correctional services officers and other detainees, and under mandatory video surveillance, a formal complaint to the NSW Commissioner of Corrective Services an his Professional Conduct Management Committee only revealed that as far as they were concerned, this didn't happen.

ICOPA XI International Conference on Penal Abolition
We are excited to announce that ICOPA X1, the eleventh International Conference on Penal Abolition will happen in Tasmania, Australia from February 9 - 11,2006. Please pass this onto all networks.

Ex-Prisoner Locked Out of Prison
The NSW Department of Corrective Services (DCS) has revealed a policy which bans ex-prisoners from entering prisons.

Justice Action: Access to our community
NSW: Justice Action went to the NSW Supreme Court before the last Federal election on the constitutional right for prisoners to receive information for their vote. The government avoided the hearing by bringing prisoners' mobile polling booths forward. We pursued it after the election. This is the report.

Risdon prisoners' seize prison to protest mistreatment
Apparently one prisoner had been mistreated and held in isolation in an SHU (Segregation Housing Unit) [Solitary Confinement] because, he'd had and altercation with a screw. SHUs cause severe mental harm - regarded as torture - and are a cruel, inhumane and degrading way to keep prisoners.

No Safe Place
In a brief four month span from August 1999, five men died in Tasmania's Risdon prison. Their deaths have put the state's corrections system in the dock and led to the planned demolition of a jail which even the State's Attorney-General now calls an "appalling facility".

MORE PRISONERS LOCKDOWNS HAVE OFFICERS ON EDGE
NSW POLICE Commissioner Ken Moroney has issued an ultimatum as well, to the lawless youths holding Sydney's streets to ransom?: Learn some respect or face jail?

Tough line on crime fills jails
The tough law-and-order policies of governments around the nation are behind an explosion in the prison population by almost 80 per cent in the past two decades.

FAMILIES OF PRISONERS FORUM
14,500 children in NSW go to bed each night with a parent in prison!

LEGAL VISITS AT PARKLEA PRISON
I am a prisoner in NSW and I am currently held in Parklea Prison. I am concerned about what is going on in NSW prisons and this is my story.

Parklea Prison: No calls for six days
The last calls that were made out of Parklea Correctional Complex by my partner, an inmate in remand at Parklea, was on Wednesday 2 February. The phone lines for the inmates have been out of service to this date.

Prison visits in crisis in NSW
The reason I am writing today is to address a difficult situation that my husband and my family are going through. My husband is currently serving a sentence at Lithgow Correctional Centre in NSW.

Prison boom will prove a social bust
Hardened criminals are not filling NSW's prisons - the mentally ill and socially disadvantaged are, writes Eileen Baldry.

The prison system requires assiduous oversight
As NSW Attorney General Bob Debus noted in 1996: "The kinds of complaints which occur in the system may seem trivial to outsiders but in the superheated world of the prison, such issues can produce explosive results."

Where the Norm is Not the Norm: HARM-U
In the absence of public policy, this paper is an attempt to shine a light through the rhetoric and test for coherency in the policy and function of NSW’s only supermax prison, the High Risk Management Unit. Its present use will be compared with the ‘vision’ flogged by the Premier and the Department of Corrective Services (the Department) at its inception in 2001.

Crime and Punishment
Mark Findlay argues that the present psychological approach to prison programs is increasing the likelihood of re-offending and the threat to community safety.

People: 'Prisoners' of Drugs'
People who are addicted to heroin usually take the drug because it relieves them of problems such as low self-esteem, distrust and fear of abandonment. They may have poor communication skills & poor relationship skills.

Justice Denied In NSW Corrective Services
There used to be a (VJ) or Visiting Justice who would go into the prison and judge any claim or accusation that was made by any prisoner or prison guard. If it were found that a prisoner had offended then punishment was metered out.

Prison guards test positive for drugs
NSW prison visitors banned from using the toilet The visit is only for about one hour and any thing less than that is an insult. If it's proved that a visitor has broken the rules the punishment should apply to them. But collective punishment on all visitors should not be made general when others haven't broken the rules especially if it restricts all visitors from normal human needs like using a toilet.

NSW prison visitors banned from using the toilet
The New South Wales Government has introduced several initiatives to stop contraband getting into prisons they said last Friday. But under the guise of "stricter rules" the department had also introduced banning all visitors including children from using the toilet unless they terminate their visit at any NSW prison after using the toilet.

Watchdogs slaughtered in NSW
On Tuesday the Carr Government reduced transparency and accountability yet again and New South Wales is in danger of becoming entrenched with cronyism and intimidations with the Carr Labor Government that continues to slaughter the watchdogs.

A Chip off the old CIA block?

Get Chipped? Just when they thought the Patriot Act was getting under their skin!

US: VeriShit Pre-Registration Program

VeriShit, the world's first subdermal personal verification technology, announces a special, introductory pre-registration program.

Sign up today to be among the first in the world to "Get Chipped" for george dubya bushit's military industrial complex and the cia.

They invite you to fill out the pre-registration form below to qualify for this special introductory offer for the first 100,000 registrants and all qualified ADS Shareholders.

$50 Off - All ADSX stockholders of record will receive a $50 discount at the time of their "chipping" procedure.

$50 Off - First 100,000 registrants will receive a $50 introductory savings at the time of the their "chipping" procedure.

They'd appreciate your interest but this is VeriShit. This pre-registration program is designed to assist the cia, the american military industrial complex and a VeriShit Corporation in determining where and when to open Authorized VeriShit Centers in the United States. Pending further regulatory clarification, the Company will make announcements regarding the timing of future shiting procedures and Authorized VeriShit Centers.

Sign up today just ring the cia, and get them toll free - Call the CIA on NY 10801-4210 914) 636-4246

VeriShit: There when neo-cons need you.

Folks lining up just to get down!

By BushTracker 13 August 05

Related:

Personal data 'being shared'
UNPRECEDENTED volumes of personal information on millions of ordinary Australians are being shared between federal government departments under dramatic extensions of a little-known "data matching" scheme, privacy advocates have warned.

Gov't Failure Card: Community
The Federal Government has dismissed renewed calls to revisit the idea of an Australia card. (His ABC) 14 July 05.

Australia Card-Identity plan: Community
Federal fascist Attorney-General Philip Ruddock says the Government has taken into account privacy issues while developing a new system to identify fraudulent documentation.

No ID Cards
There is already an ID card the tax-file number cross referenced with medicare card drivers license and or passport. Why not just have us implanted with micro-chips as that will be the most convenient for the State by whoever runs it...no those laissez faire tax-dodging Libs will split. Their bosses like BHP-Billiton owe $850 million in tax. Will they also do a Vizard ? Meanwhile in Britland....

Thank God they're looking out for me
That's the thing about Australians who look and talk funny, they don't respect our culture. Good Aussies ALWAYS carry ID in case the Gestapo, I mean, Culture Police pick them up.

More police powers for spyware
Federal and state police now have the power to use computer spyware to gather evidence in a broad range of investigations after legal changes last week.

Community seeks more power to interrogate ASIO suspects
Greens Senator Bob Brown does not think increased police powers are necessary. "We have enormous powers for surveillance, apprehension or punishment of people who are engaged in or intending to engage in or thinking about being engaged in terrorist acts in this country," he said.

Greens warn of 'politicised' terror trials
AUSTRALIA/CUBA?: The Australian Greens say they are concerned that new anti-terrorism laws being debated in the Senate allow for the "political black-banning" of defence
lawyers at terrorism trials.

A corrupt way to treat the community?
I seen the police bleeding on Nine's Sunday program arguing that promotion should depend on how many crimes police have solved and not how many brains they have and that was coming from police commissioner Ken Moroney and Police Minister John Watkins?

AFP: The unlikely CRIMINAL
It was born of a bombing and it made its name after a far more devastating act of terrorism. But for most of the 25 years in between, little was known about the Australian Federal Police force or the work it did.

Ruddock moves to give police access to emails
Police could get access to stored voicemails; emails and SMS messages under a Bill introduced to federal Parliament today. Attorney-General Philip Ruddock says police have had trouble getting access to stored messages because of the laws preventing them intercepting phone calls.

Dictatorship under the crimes Act?
Attorney General Phillip Ruddock said yesterday under the Crimes Act Izhar Ul Haque committed a crime.

Standing up for liberties
When a federal Labor Opposition indicates it is prepared to agree to future government legislation even before its detailed content is known, alarm bells should ring.

Fascist wants more power for ASIO
Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock wants to strengthen Australia's terrorism laws, to make it easier for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) to hold and question suspects without any evidence for three years and ban organisations.

Gulag bill: ASIO set to ignite blazing debate
The bill, due to be introduced into the Senate, gives ASIO officers new powers to detain for a week citizens aged 14 and over. People could be detained even where they are not suspected of any crime but of having information related to terrorism.

Criminal's DNA filed under relative's name
The New South Wales Opposition is calling for an investigation into claims that police have entered DNA data for serious offenders under incorrect names.

Surveillance
It is up to ordinary people to raise the level of debate about the undemocratic surveillance practices of the many faceless and unaccountable agents who make daily intrusions on individual privacy, and about the apologists and propagandists for the War nn Terror who applaud every new attack on human rights and freedoms as "prudent" or "necessary". If there is no discussion of reverse surveillance in the national media, create it on the streets on a citizen to citizen basis. If nobody is talking about the outrageous assaults on privacy and human rights embodied in the new antiterrorist acts forced through US, UK and Australian legislatures, start talking about it to your neighbours and friends.

Welcome to the MatrixB
US - In what civil liberties advocates call the most massive database surveillance program in US history, the Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange, or Matrix, continues to compile billions of records on law-abiding citizens and receive federal funding, despite public outcry and suspicion.

Govt tests airport security eye scanner
Technology that identifies people by scanning their eyes could be introduced into Australian airports as early as next year.

Ruddock foreshadows new terrorism laws
The new laws will allow police to access emails and mobile phone SMS messages, enable wider use of surveillance devices, and protect sensitive national security information during terrorism trials.

Putting Your Finger on the Line: Biometric Identification Technology The NSW Department of Corrective Services has progressively been implementing biometric identification technology (BIT) for use on all entrants into maximum security prisons since August 1996. It currently operates in seven prisons in NSW and is scheduled for introduction at Parklea prison later this year. BIT has raised the ire of many community agencies, the legal fraternity and government authorities. Framed examines what the controversy is all about and what the implications of this technology are.

Seriously Ten seriously blue and seriously flawed!
Channel Tens News broadcast at 5pm with Jessica Rowe reporting that, "Their news poll suggests that 96 per cent of people are in favour of 'new special police powers' to fight the terrorists."

NSW Police Force may get 'special powers'
Civil libertarians are questioning the need for further anti-terrorism laws, which will be announced in the New South Wales Parliament on Tuesday.

Xerox workers to strike over satellite tracking plan
Over 250 Xerox workers will go on strike this morning over plans to use global positioning system technology (GPS) to track them throughout their day.

WA Prisons: 'Pre Release Program' suspended?

"I have various times throughout my continuing, indefinite incarceration, felt as though I were a 'lone voice' in the middle of a screaming AFL Grand Final crowd."

A prisoner writes from Acacia Prison Wooraloo WA to Justice ACTION

Thank you for your most welcomed correspondence and the attachments of 06 July 2005, which I received this afternoon. I must also thank you for your previous correspondence of 31 May 2005.

The Prison Resource Kit contains a variety of information I am sure will be well read, thank you. I was quietly amused and agreeing with the poster illustrating imprisonment with the title,' Obedience To The Law is Freedom'. I think it is very apt, in my opinion, what constitutes 'The Law' is open to debate when it comes to 'Freedom'.

I am delighted to see that my previous letters have been accepted as material of interest and relevance by your organisation, and that this material has been put out there for inquisitive and interested eyes to see.

I was very much heartened by your kind comments and uplifting enthusiasm for issues that I am enthusiastic about also. I have various times throughout my continuing, indefinite incarceration, felt as though I were a 'lone voice' in the middle of a screaming AFL Grand Final crowd when it comes to issues of fairness and accountability in the justice system. I am pleased to understand that I am not alone in this regard.

I find it ironic and mildly sad in a way that I am under the control and care of a 'Department' that has the word 'Justice' in its title. Have I missed something? For the most part I understand that a multi faceted system beats to its own drum, and that 'Justice' is an objective most of the time, but I do feel sometimes that the drum isn't sounding out the right type of music.

Issues such as the decision by the Department Of Justice in Western Australia not to distribute the 'Just Us' periodic newspaper astound and concern me. To my knowledge, there is no equivalent publication that is already provided to prisoners in Western Australia.

On that note, at present I have received no further responses to my enquiries with the Department Of Justice relating to this matter, but I will keep you informed as I do.

I am also discussing the periodical Newsletter with people and suggesting that if they wish to be informed and to have their political voice heard, they may choose to write to Justice ACTION and have their details added to the Justice ACTION mailing list.

[Name suppressed for legal reasons because this prisoner was sent to prison at age 16]

I have recently commenced civil proceedings in the Supreme Court of Western Australia, in Perth. My case may be cited as [Prisoner] V Director General, Department Of Justice and Anor. XXX. XXX of 2005.

I have lodged a Writ of Habeas Corpus against the First Respondent, Director General, Department of Justice, and a Writ of Certiorari against the Second Respondent, the former Minister for Justice.

My first court appearance regarding these matters was on Thursday, 02 June 2005. This was an 'ex parte' hearing in Chambers before His honour Judge Blaxell. The matter has been adjourned to Wednesday, 15 June 2005. I hope to present oral submissions and argument on this day.

I have prepared the legal documents myself, and I am representing myself in these proceedings. It has been suggested to me that due to the highly political nature of my case in the past, and the foreseeable future, finding legal representation in Perth is very difficult. But I take this difficulty in my stride, and I am only too aware that I am the only person who knows my case and my contentions clearly.

I have enclosed three documents for your perusal and information, which have been filed with the Court already. These documents are:

* Notice Of Originating Motion (Form 64) [6 Pages]
* Outline Of Submissions For A Writ Of Habeas Corpus And A Writ Of Certiorari And Order Nisi [17 pages]
* Applicant's Amended List Of Authorities For Hearing On Wednesday 15 June 2005 [8 pages]

I am confident that you with be able to understand the directions I will be leading to in argument. The ad hominem contention is of particular interest. As this is a civil action, the case citing, which includes my surname, has been printed in The West Australian newspaper's Court listing. As I noted previously, the case has been adjourned to Wednesday, 15 June 2005, and on this date I will ask the Court for a suppression order relating to my name (my identity), and future Court Listings. I will be seeking to invoke ss 35 and 36 of the Children's Court Of Western Australia Act 1988, for the order.

I am not sure if your organisation is aware of this, but there is presently an inquiry investigating the activities of the Department Of Justice, in connection with the placement and management of prisoners in Western Australian Prisons, and in the community.

There have been a number of incidents of late involving the Department Of Justice, and few high profile inmates, which have received a barrage of media and public interest. The Liberal Party in Opposition has also taken the opportunity to berate the Labor Government concerning these incidents.

As a result of these incidents 14 prisoners, including life sentenced prisoners and Governor's pleasure sentenced prisoners, having done nothing to warrant punishment, were removed from minimum-security prison farms to medium and maximum security facilities. These 14 prisoners had been participating in a program of graduated release into the community. This program is colloquially known as the 'Pre Release Program'.

In response to these incidents, on 05 April 2005, Western Australia's Premier, Dr Geoff Gallop, signed a document that outlines the terms of reference of an 'independent' inquiry. The named inquiry is defined as: "INQUIRY INTO THE PERFORMANCE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WITH REGARD TO THE MANAGEMENT OF OFFENDERS IN CUSTODY AND IN THE COMMUNITY"

The Honourable Dennis Mahoney, a former New South Wales Supreme Court Judge, has been named as the Inquirer for this Inquiry.

All of this has occurred after the Labor Government was returned to office in February of this year.

The new Minister for Justice, Honourable John D'Orazio, who has relieved Honourable Michelle Roberts, former Minister for Justice, has been appointed the new 'overseer' of the 'troublesome' Justice Portfolio. Mr D'Orazio, a multiple victim of crime himself, in response to the incidents involving the Department Of Justice, has stated in various media reports words to the effect that his priorities are:

(a) Community safety
(b) Staff safety within the justice system
(c) And then we will look at the rehabilitation of prisoners

Life sentenced prisoners and Governor's pleasure sentenced prisoners, who were participating in approved Pre Release Programs, and prisoners who hoped to be commencing Pre Release Programs, have been told that there will be no Pre Release Programs until further notice (indefinite suspension), pending the outcome of the 'independent inquiry.

It has been suggested that this action, or inaction of behalf of the Department Of Justice, and the Labor Government, is a form of group punishment perpetrated towards life sentenced prisoners and Governor's pleasure sentence prisoners, in my opinion this is correct.

The concept of group punishment is from days of old. What is going on in Western Australia? On that note, I shall sign off for now, and turn to my extensive authorities list for my up and coming legal action. I hope that my efforts continue to be of assistance to Justice ACTION and I look forward to hearing from you again.

Kind Regards

By Just Us 4 August 05

Ed. Likewise my friend how you have grown in your knowledge and your wisdom from a 16-year-old boy into a fine scholar, from juvenile detention into adult prison, with a lot of knowledge to share with the community. God willing, people who make their first mistake in my opinion always deserve a second chance. A second chance to prove to the community and themselves that they can make it, so the community in turn will not diminish the standards of a human being so easily, after they have made their first mistake. Why? Because a human being is not infallible in the land of trial and error and people only learn by making a mistake. Some people make big mistakes and some people make small mistakes. Nevertheless it is a mistake when it's recognised but once that has occurred and a person has learned and has some insight into their offending behaviour that mistake is unlikely to occur ever again if 'treated properly' the first time.

But making your first mistake as a 'child' in our Wonderful Universe and then being incarcerated for it by the State 'indefinitely' is wrong and I think your case deserves special attention.

Surely there is an obligation by the Australian Constitution to grant you a second chance on the basis that you were a child when you committed your first offence and obviously did not have time to grow up before you tripped over and stubbed your toe on that rock that has been indefinitely tied around your neck ever since. Keep up the good work and let us know how you get on!

Every Best Wish

Harmful, Undeserved Punishment

US: Nearly five million American citizens are denied the right to vote - one of every 50 citizens. That includes 13 percent of all African-American men nationwide, up to almost twice that percentage in particular states and the majority of adults - black and white -- in some inner city neighborhoods.


Related:

POLITICAL 'GAGGING' IN THE WEST
I write with a pang of disheartening news to the ' Just Us' editors, from behind the wire at Acacia Prison.

Inquiry into West Australia's prison system
Prison Reform Group WA (PRGWA) notes the broad terms of reference as well as the robust independence of the inquiry. In establishing an inquiry that is motivated to provide a clear and fresh view of a beleaguered system it is hoped that an unbiased, clinical analysis free of the dreadful political mudslinging that has mired this area in the past may now be possible.

Overhaul Department of Justice: Reform Group
WA: The Prison Reform Group of WA is calling for a complete overhaul of the Department of Justice following recent events which have compromised its integrity, placing prison staff, prisoners, their families and the community, at risk. We call for the Minister to publicly apologise for last week's debacle which has seen the public badly let down by the Department of Justice yet again.

Crisis Brewing in State Jails
WA: Figures released today reveal one of the states worst kept secrets 'the prisons are filling fast and will soon be overflowing. The ABS figures released today showed that Western Australia's imprisonment rate continued to outstrip every other state in Australia.

NEW INDEPENDENT RISDON PRISON REPORT
Justice Action and Prison Action & Reform are not satisfied with the review and will present an independent report to Parliament in August, based upon interviews with prisoners, prison staff and concerned community members.

MORE PRISONERS LOCKDOWNS HAVE OFFICERS ON EDGE
NSW POLICE Commissioner Ken Moroney has issued an ultimatum as well, to the lawless youths holding Sydney's streets to ransom?: Learn some respect or face jail?

Tough line on crime fills jails
The tough law-and-order policies of governments around the nation are behind an explosion in the prison population by almost 80 per cent in the past two decades.

LEGAL VISITS AT PARKLEA PRISON
I am a prisoner in NSW and I am currently held in Parklea Prison. I am concerned about what is going on in NSW prisons and this is my story.

Parklea Prison: No calls for six days
The last calls that were made out of Parklea Correctional Complex by my partner, an inmate in remand at Parklea, was on Wednesday 2 February. The phone lines for the inmates have been out of service to this date.

Prison visits in crisis in NSW
The reason I am writing today is to address a difficult situation that my husband and my family are going through. My husband is currently serving a sentence at Lithgow Correctional Centre in NSW.

Prison boom will prove a social bust
Hardened criminals are not filling NSW's prisons - the mentally ill and socially disadvantaged are, writes Eileen Baldry.

The prison system requires assiduous oversight
As NSW Attorney General Bob Debus noted in 1996: "The kinds of complaints which occur in the system may seem trivial to outsiders but in the superheated world of the prison, such issues can produce explosive results."

Crime and Punishment
Mark Findlay argues that the present psychological approach to prison programs is increasing the likelihood of re-offending and the threat to community safety.

Justice Denied In NSW Corrective Services
There used to be a (VJ) or Visiting Justice who would go into the prison and judge any claim or accusation that was made by any prisoner or prison guard. If it were found that a prisoner had offended then punishment was metered out.

Prison guards test positive for drugs
NSW prison visitors banned from using the toilet The visit is only for about one hour and any thing less than that is an insult. If it's proved that a visitor has broken the rules the punishment should apply to them. But collective punishment on all visitors should not be made general when others haven't broken the rules especially if it restricts all visitors from normal human needs like using a toilet.

NSW prison visitors banned from using the toilet
The New South Wales Government has introduced several initiatives to stop contraband getting into prisons they said last Friday. But under the guise of "stricter rules" the department had also introduced banning all visitors including children from using the toilet unless they terminate their visit at any NSW prison after using the toilet.

Watchdogs slaughtered in NSW
On Tuesday the Carr Government reduced transparency and accountability yet again and New South Wales is in danger of becoming entrenched with cronyism and intimidations with the Carr Labor Government that continues to slaughter the watchdogs.

Prisons as progressive punishment?

The State of Corrective Services

Prisons, by their nature and the communities they house, suffer more acutely from the factors of social exclusion that characterise the underprivileged sectors of Australian society.

Without the exacerbation of a custodial experience, these characteristics alone militate against the successful reintegration of prisoners back into the community. Any revision of punishment policy, therefore, requires more than retarding spiralling imprisonment rates.

For those who do end up in gaol, and for those employed to manage them, the prison environment requires significant redevelopment if inmates are not to leave prison more maladjusted than when they went in.

Prison staff have either worked to ameliorated the negative influences of social exclusion amongst inmates, or have contributed to the brutality of prison experience.

In New South Wales (as no doubt in other states), for instance, prison education officers have over the years had a significant influence improving prisoner literacy rates.

In so doing, they have addressed one of the simplest and yet most significant factors at work against prisoner reintegration. Prisoner education is recognised as one of the few correctional initiatives which seem to correlate with improved recidivism prospects.

In New South Wales prisons today there has been a move away from basic, egalitarian inmate programs in preference for elite cognitive therapies. This shift has been justified, it is argued, by the misguided belief that prisoners with the greatest risk of serious re-offending can be identified, and on them limited correctional resources should be concentrated.

In addition, this is again incorrectly supported by the conviction that, for these few inmates, their recidivism rates can be radically decreased through psychological intervention in gaol.

Against this, it is proposed that community corrections are cheaper and more efficient than prison rehabilitation. Having said that, for those available for corrections in custody, a more general improvement in the social environment of the prison is a simpler, cheaper and fairer way of dealing with recidivism than elite cognitive therapies.

The important ancillary benefit of this approach is that inmates and prison staff contribute to a more productive prison community. The quality of prison life then becomes as important a performance measure for the prison as recidivism, and recidivism will be improved as the prison addresses the fundamental issues of social exclusion.

The challenge is for prison management, staff and the community at large to accept that more humane rather than harsher prison conditions may be more conducive to lower re-offending and, thereby, improved community safety. This is the future for the prison in progressive punishment, rather than a problematic commitment to the deterrent effect of 'tough gaol time'.

Corrections in prison?

In 1988 I published an article entitled The Demise of Corrections. The central thesis was that penal correctionalism had failed because it was piecemeal and without the support of a well developed commitment of alternative strategies to the prison:

One would be rightly cynical of the relevance of correctionalism for criminal justice, when an examination is made of the limited, unimaginative and few semi-custodial and non-custodial alternatives which have been introduced into NSW since settlement.

The criticism is sharper in the current context of imprisonment in NSW, where correctional expectations continue to disappoint, despite a recent revival of interest in 'what works/offender management programmes.

In these days of post-just-deserts punitive conservatism, such a criticism has almost become and article of faith for punishment practice in NSW.

It is as if the significance of restorative justice and the manifold empirical failures of the prison have simply been swept aside, in favour of a vision of punishment which promotes custodial outcomes as the answer to public dissatisfaction with criminal justice.

All this is politically justified in terms of deterrence and community safety. Politicians, judges and prison administrators are frightened to talk publicly in terms of corrections, rehabilitation and reform and the legislation on sentencing sidelines their significance.

What is the taxpayer getting in return for the punishment dollar? It now costs over $160 per day to keep a prisoner in the state's gaols, half that figure going in capital costs.

Fading hopes for corrections?

Why is it corrections remains a euphemism in the popular culture of punishment in NSW? Do we continue to be bound to the single aim enunciated by Royal Commissioner Justice Nagle that inmates should not leave prison in a worse state than before they were incarcerated?

There is, however, a resonant critique of the motivation behind this new era for rehabilitation in prison. The criticism reflects the long established debate in criminology between psychological and social determinism. Let me pose a simple example.

There appears to be a significant connection between the imprisonment of parents and the eventual incarceration of their children. How can this be explained? Social determinists would propose that the criminogenic structural conditions of family life for the parent and the child remain constant, and the marginalisation they produce leads to crime and prison.

Psychological behaviourists will either blame criminal genealogies, crime as an intergenerational or genetic feature, or learning patterns within families that promote crime.

Psychological determination has taken hold in contemporary prison rehabilitation thinking. A reason for this may be that it holds out a causal connection between programmes and the reduction of recidivism. In a more cynical context, it also allows prison administrators to rationalise programme resources and to restrict programme entry on the basis of risk.

The criminogenic needs model of offender programming in prison argues for psychological intervention which addresses criminogenic thinking, needs and risk on the basis of cognitive behaviour research. Advocates of the model argue that a greater adherence to psychological justifications for rehabilitation will exclude other modes of explanation.

Even the belief that rehabilitation in risk has failed can be overcome by psychological models such as this, which explain criminal behaviour and go onto address offender risks, such as eventual re-offending.

This predictable intervention approach is said to enable targeted programme funding that can significantly reduce re-offending through programming of cognitive skills, promoting behavioural change.

Like the treatments and therapies of the 1960s that left rehabilitation in tatters, this new wave of behavioural prisoner programming may be equally problematic. For instance, when criminogenic needs programs themselves are unpacked they seem to contain little which is different from the teaching methodologies employed by prison teachers in general curricula.

Generally programme assignment is based on the principal that offenders who are at high risk of recidivism should be given priority for treatment. It is assumed that allocations of services to low risk offenders is wasteful because the latter group recidivate at rates which are too low to be affected by interventions.

What seems from the research to lack justification is risk classification based on diagnosis, of the original offending behaviour, rather than more material indicators, such as the offending history of the inmate, age, drug record and current offence.

The reliability of claims that selective allocation of cognitive behavioural programmes, based on individualised criminogenic diagnosis, will reduce recidivism is suspect. The ability to diagnose the cause of the inmates underlying criminal behaviour through psychological determinism is not sufficient to overturn more universal rights to programme access for prisoners.

If this diagnostic capacity was routinely available, and it is not, then such predictive wisdom would be more economically applied to crime prevention than correctional remedies.

Criticising the contemporary penal model for criminal justice

In recent years in NSW, political and public debate about criminal justice has moved from prison reform, through police reform and on to sentencing. Unfortunately, the analysis of sentencing has been constrained by several taken-for-granted public truths: Judges are soft on crime; tough sentencing makes for community safety; sentencing discretion needs to be constrained because it is inconsistent; lenient sentences are evidence of inconsistency; harsh imprisonment sentences are the only appropriate response to all crimes that make the community feel unsafe.

Responding to this pressure, the legislature has restricted sentencing discretion, raised sentencing ranges, introduced more factors of offence aggravation, reduced opportunities for executive release, and downplayed any punishment strategies beyond imprisonment.

This has led to more people going to prison for longer. Remand populations are at record highs. Any court disposition which might be interpreted as soft on crime is now met with the media response that prison is the only appropriate response.

As a consequence, criminal justice policy is skewed towards concerns about penal outcomes. Limited and costly prison resources are being squandered on whole classes of offenders who Justice Nagle declared as unsuited for prison. Suggestions that short-term prison sentences are ineffective now seem novel.

More than this however, everything associated with criminal sanctioning is measured against penal expectations, principal amongst these being community safety. Yet, even in this context, it is not easy to argue that rehabilitation needs to be directed towards cost-effective themes of social restoration, rather than psychological and institutional reprogramming.

With individual responsibility and appropriateness re-emerging in sentencing principles, it is not surprising that the behaviourists are back in the ascendancy when it comes to inmate programming.

By Mark Findlay posted 13 July 05

Mark Findlay is Professor of Criminal Justice at Sydney University

Next week: Custody as the challenge to corrections.

Crime and Punishment

Prisons, by their nature and the communities they house, suffer more acutely from the social exclusion that characterises the underprivileged parts of Australian society. Without the exacerbation of a custodial experience, these characteristics alone militate against the successful reintegration of prisoners back into the community.

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