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Portfolio Committee on Portfolio Committee on Correctional ServicesCorrectional Services

ByBy

Mpho MathabatheMpho Mathabathe

International Study tour: International Study tour: possible focus areaspossible focus areas

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Introduction

• This presentation will focus on three (3) Countries as possible areas for study tour.

• These Countries are: Queensland (Australia); England and Wales (United Kingdom); and New York (United States of America).

• Among others things, the presentation will look at: Offender population, private prisons, female offenders and mothers with babies, parole boards, and offenders with Mental health problems.

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Queensland (Australia)

• Australia has six States: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.

• Each State has its own legislature or Parliament and the head of government in each state is the Premier.

• This presentation will pay attention to Queensland

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Queensland Correctional Services Legislation

• Correctional Services Act 2006 which was passed in May of that year

• Correctional Services Regulations

• Constitution of Australia 1900, and other related Legislation

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Prison population

• There are 18 Correctional centers, including 2 private prisons

• 10 centers are high security and 8 are low security

• 6 of these low security facilities are attached to high security centers

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Prison population (cont..)

• 2008/9 AR :5 596 offenders; 2010/11 AR: 5537 offenders. Prison population is stable

• 4 unnatural death were recorded in Queensland prisons in 2008/9 as a result of suicide

• In the same period, 5 offenders escaped in low security facilities and all of them were recaptured and returned to high security facilities

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Private prisons in Queensland

• Queensland is said to be first Australian State to contract out prison management to private sector

• First private prison opened in January 1990 and has 492 bed space

• Prison was build at a cost of $22 million • Initial contract for the prison was for three

years period with option to renew for a further two years.

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Private prisons in Queensland(Cont..)

• Second private prison was opened soon after 1992 and it is a high security prison used for remand prisoners and also for temporary detention of prisoners whilst awaiting their security classification

• This is a 710 bed space facility• The contract for this facility was for a period

of five-years with a renewal option for a further two years

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Parole system in Queensland

• Parole is the only form of release available to prisoners in Queensland

• Prisoners (those serving less than 3 years) have to serve the entire sentence handed down by the court either in custody or in the community and it is the court who gives prisoner parole release date

• Those sentenced for more serious crimes or sentenced to more than three years must apply to a parole board for release on parole

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LESSONS FROM THE PAST

• Parole boards are independent and appointed by the Governor in Council for a period of up to three (3) years and are eligible for reappointment

• The board consist of 7 members and includes a president and a deputy each of whom is either a retired Judge or a lawyer who has practiced for 5 years

Parole system in Queensland(Cont.)

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Parole system in Queensland (Cont..)

• The role of the parole board is to determine whether eligible offenders are ready for supervised release into the community.

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PAST EXPERIENCE/CHALLENGES

• Queensland Correctional Services has a Victim Register which is an information service intended to provide information of violent and sexual crimes against the person who offended against them

• Registration is only available to people who are actual victims of violent or sexual crimes, immediate family members of a deceased victim, or a parent of a victim who is under 18 years.

Victim Register

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Overcrowding

• Information that can be provided includes offenders’ eligible date for release, the correctional centre, results for application for parole and information about an offender’s escape or death

• The victim can also make a representation during an offender’s application for parole

Victims Register (Cont..)

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Integrated Justice System

• Female offenders constitute a small proportion of prison population in Queensland and are housed in four (4) facilities for women offenders

• Queensland Correctional Services procedure stipulates that women offenders cannot be classified as maximum security offenders

Female offender and mother with babies

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Care and Development

• Majority of female offenders are whites and were born in Australia and are between the ages of 20-39

• Major offences for these women includes, Fraud and misappropriation, homicide, assault and drug offences.

• There are facilities for mothers and babies

Female offenders and mothers with babies (Cont..)

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Social Reintegration

• Two facilities (Townsville and Brisbane) can each accommodate up to eight (8) mothers and babies

• Babies can be with their mothers until they reach the age of four when they have to be placed in foster care or with relatives.

Female offenders and mothers with babies (Cont..)

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Facilities

• England and Wales is two of the Countries of United Kingdom. These two are usually treated as a single unit for most purposes because they form the constitutional successor to the former Kingdom of England

England and Wales (United Kingdom)

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Prison Labour

• There are 134 prisons in England and Wales with space for 87 690 offenders

• March 2011: 85 454 offenders incarcerated in England and Wales

• 81 202 males and 4 252 females

Prison population

Female offenders and mothers with babies

• 14 correctional facilities all situated in England

• 7 mother and baby units in England and Wales correctional system

• 2 facilities keep babies with mother up to age of 9 months and others up to age of 18 months

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Parole boards of England and Wales

• Established in 1968 under Criminal Justice Act of 1967

• Its role is to make risk assessment about prisoners and decide who may safely be released

• Fulfils three functions:• Whether to release indeterminate and some

determinate sentenced offenders

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Parole boards of England and Wales (Cont.)

• Reviews circumstances in which sentenced prisoners have been recalled to prison for alleged or actual re-offending or breach of licence during probation period and decides whether to re-release these prisoners

• Make recommendations to Secretary of State for the transfer of indeterminate sentenced prisoners from a closed prison to an open prison.

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Parole boards of England and Wales (Conti..)

• March 2010 the Parole Board had 216 members of which most are part time

• Parole Board rule 2004 as amended in 2009 requires the board to convene a panel of up to three members to make a decision or recommendation

• Members are appointed for three years with further three-year re-appointment subject to positive appraisal.

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Parole boards of England and Wales(Conti..)

• Parole system does not have appeal process however the board can re-panel cases where appropriate

• If a party to proceedings wish to challenge a decision, the only option is to seek Judicial Review.

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Inspectorate for Prisons

• Her Majesty’s Inspectorate is an independent inspectorate which reports on condition for and treatment of those in prisons and immigration detention facilities

• Chief Inspectorate is appointed for a period of five years and reports directly to Justice Secretary and Minister

• Inspectorate also report to Home Secretary on conditions and treatment in all immigration facilities.

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Private prisons

• Private prisons were introduced in the 1990’s and the first being opened in April 1992

• Currently there are 11 private prisons with accommodation for 9000 offenders

• 9 facilities were financed, built and run by private sector while the other two were financed and built by public sector (Government) but are run by private sector

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Private prisons (Cont..)

• One of the private prisons house women only and was built purposely for that purpose.

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Reducing repeat offending

• Nine path ways to reduce re-offending• Accommodation• Education, training and employment• Health• Drugs and alcohol• Finance, benefit and debt• Children and families• Attitudes, thinking and behaviour

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Reducing repeat offending (Cont..)

• Women affected by abuse and violence• Women involved in prostitute.

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New York prison system

• American prison system has its origin in New York in the early 19th Century

• Authorities at the time felt that prisoners had to be compelled to work since restricting them in their cells the whole day contributed nothing to their own confinement.

• Authorities felt that since prisoners were working the whole day, their cells could be made smaller.

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Prison population

• At the end of December 2010, 58 378 offenders were incarcerated in facilities in New York

• 55 898 (95.8%) males and 2 480 (4.2%) females

• Average was 37 years old• 21 yrs old constituted 5% while 60 yrs old and

over constituted 3%

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Mothers and babies

• New born babies are allowed with their mother in facilities unless mother is certified physically unfit to care for the baby

• Babies can remain in prison with their mothers until the baby is one year old

• The baby can be removed anytime from the facility by the officer in charge of the institution.

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Offenders with mental illness

• The prison psychiatric hospital was opened in 1980 and has never been expanded

• Since 1991 number of inmates with mental illness in New York State prisons has grown by 71%

• Available data shows that by December 2003 approximately 7500 inmates were assigned to mental health caseload

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Offenders with mental illness (Cont..)

• It was estimated that 3200 inmates on mental heath caseload had a major mental disorder and required long-term psychiatric treatment

• Because of limited residential treatment programmes most inmates with mental illness are housed with general inmates in maximum security prisons and they are often isolated, stigmatized and easily victimized by other prisoners.

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Parole system in New York

• Parole Division was established in 1930 wherein a full time board of parole was created and given the responsibility to decide on parole release of inmates from prison

• The Board consist of 19 members, each member appointed by Governor for a period of 6 year term

• The typical panel consist of two or three members

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Parole system in New York (Cont..)

• The board is said to have two responsibilities; case by case screening of inmates being considered for parole; establishment of conditions of release of each person under parole supervision

• Conditions are uniquely tailored to meet individual needs of all inmates released on parole.

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