3 September 2010

Rhys Brown and poor impulse control

| johnboy
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Rhys Brown is awaiting sentencing for taking a machete to Woden Plaza and threatening to kill another man.

He’s trying to convince the court that he needs to be out of prison because custodial life has got him using drugs again.

So it’s a little surprising to read on the ABC that he’s thrown a jug of water at Justice Richard Refshauge in court and had to be restrained by five corrective services officers.

One hopes he will not be gracing the streets of Canberra until he’s gotten a better grip on his temper.

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Saw in the paper today he got 3 1/2 years in. Maybe in that time he can work on his drug habit.

Tooks said :

sepi said :

what i don’t get is who pays for these drugs. aren’t they meant to be expensive. who is giving them away to prisoners?

Prisoners have access to money through bank accounts.

Are there ATMs in prison? Is that a human right requirement?

sepi said :

what i don’t get is who pays for these drugs. aren’t they meant to be expensive. who is giving them away to prisoners?

Prisoners have access to money through bank accounts.

DBCooper said :

Wonder what he got for throwing the jug of water at the justice?

It was ‘Justice’ Refshauge, so hopefully a round of applause.

Ive heard that our society is corrupt.

I’ve heard the jail is corrupt already!

Mike Crowther8:54 pm 04 Sep 10

….but an equally pertinent question is, “Why is a prisoner accused of committing a violent offense allowed to sit at the bloody bar table???” (The fact he was escorted by FIVE screws is an pretty good indication that he could be volatile chap.) I recall a female prosecutor was hit over the head with a lectern by another accused last year. Is there no corporate memory operating? It is apparent farnarkler, that someone in the A.G.’s dept (or the judiciary) are not doing their job properly either.

what i don’t get is who pays for these drugs. aren’t they meant to be expensive. who is giving them away to prisoners?

It is apparent then that someone somewhere within ACT corrective services is not doing their job properly.

Farnarkler said ” what is the point? ”

what he said (above). There’s too many way’s and means and bodgy people in power.

You shouldn’t forget we have some very resourceful people imprisoned. Not just the boys. They are naturally/freakishly talented at this stuff. I really don’t think you can stop it. You might be able to reduce it. But you cant stop it. Just the same way as you will never be able to stop illicit drugs in the community. Denial goes a lot further than government.

You mean Criminals don’t follow the laws? lol imagine that.

http://absolutelytrue.com/2007/10/man-hides-heroin-in-penis-cellphone-in-r/

He didn’t seem to take the judge seriously? Wonder what he got for throwing the jug of water at the justice?

Mike Crowther12:40 pm 04 Sep 10

Clown Killer asks “How do drugs get into prison in the first place.” Prisons have a long list of people who are allowed to come and go. Staff (not just prison officers, but teachers, welfare workers, nurses, Drug and alcohol councelors, tech repair people, police, fire brigade assessors, official visitors, lawyers, politicians,) visitors and (most importantly) inmates who work in the grounds cleaning mowing etc. So a gaol isn’t the sterile container many people think it is. People come and go, and sometimes they come with lots of drugs shoved up their arseholes. Now in the US of A and in television land, officers don rubber gloves and retrieve such. Here in Aus, such searches are illegal. (I’m not advocating them, just stating facts.) There is much motivation for someone to bring in drugs. ie: Their family is threatened on the outside, their safety in threatened on the inside…greed, philosophical.. Occasionally prison officers do go bad (N.S.W. have caught about six in a ten year period.) However those who do are considered dogs by their peers as they put the safety of their workmates at risk. There are no nods and winks among prison officers when it comes to their own safety (pommy bastard).

If you want to increase drug use inside, 1) Run your institution on minimum staff eg: three to supervise up to fifty visitors. 2) Have a judiciary which through inaction on detected smugglers, encourages people to test the system. (spot on Tooks) 3. Have areas of the institution where inmates can go for ‘quiet contemplation’ out of sight of staff. 4. Have no contingency for when your staff are threatened/assaulted by inmates or their supporters. 5. Plan for conjugal visits. 6. Have an as yet untested Human Rights Act that can paralyze any disciplinary program that might be tried. 7. Have a government that is in denial.

Exactly, PB.

Pommy bastard11:31 am 04 Sep 10

Tooks said :

It doesn’t help when visitors who smuggle drugs in – and are caught – are not banned from visiting.

Some one would sue, as it would be seen as protectionism of the warders market…

It doesn’t help when visitors who smuggle drugs in – and are caught – are not banned from visiting.

Beserk Keyboard Warrior10:56 am 04 Sep 10

farnarkler said :

‘He’s trying to convince the court that he needs to be out of prison because custodial life has got him using drugs again’

Surely this is a joke right? How do drugs get into prison in the first place? Any current or ex prison officer care to enlighten us?

Drugs generally come in through one of two means: (i) via visitors or (ii) over the fence. Sometimes it’s as simple as stuffing a tennis ball full of smack and smashing it over the fence with a tennis racket; unsophisticated but very hard to stop unless you wan’t to build a billion-dollar roof over the place.

It’s arguable that drugs are more easily obtainable from within prison walls than outside them.

jdml what is the point?

PB if the prisoners have access to free drug rehabilitation, something Hollywood stars pay thousands for, they should be forced to take it.

Pommy bastard9:47 am 04 Sep 10

Does putting people in a “drug free” prison not a contravention of their human rights? Like them not having access to the internet, not getting conjugal visits, not having room service, having TV’s smaller than 108 inches, not being referred to as “Sir” by the warders.

They’ve got dogs, x-rays the whole lot- ur missing the point farnakler.

What sarcasm?

Thanks for the sarcasm. Obviously the way prisons are run is far, far different from how they should be run. Has ACT Corrective services not heard of drug detector dogs?

There is controversy at the new Alexander Machonochie Centre over the issue of inmates aquiring and using drugs, this is because the authorities boldly claimed the prison would be drug free, and that hasn’t been the case. Drugs have regularly turned up in searches and by other means, and it is well known that there are drugs in the jail. There wouldn’t be many, if any drug free jails in the world. Where there’s a will there’s a way, and u r talking about skillful and cunning men with plenty of spare time on thier hands, who are often in jail on drug related charges.

There has also been trouble about having a needle syringe provider at the jail, where inmates would be able to dispose of dirty syringes and gain access to clean ones that would stop the spread of diseases that are rampant in prisons. This was shelved due to saftey concerns for officers, but i hear that it is gaining momentum again and may happen. That must be a bitter pill for the makers of the jail to swallow. Why do they need syringes at a drug free jail? Because it’s not drug free and it never will be, and they accept that now.

They also said it would be a human rights standard jail, if that’s the case why did 13 Inmates climb on the roof to protest unacceptable conditions in April? When the Minister for Corrective Services was caught lying about the true nature of the protest, specificaly about excessive lock-ins. There has been trouble with the food, heating, rehabilitation courses, R.F.I.D Bracelett system (the mandatory radio frequency I.D, bracelett stapped to the leg to monitor the whereabouts of inmates) which inmates say is uncomfortable and inhumain, and list goes on and on.

I think the real problem was that the pollies jumped on the new Canberra jail as a good thing, and just made 2 many promises. If they hadn’t promised it, no-one would have expected it, it’s a jail after all. But to rehabilitate prisoners is the fundamental issue, that impacts on the community, and what the jail was founded on. One can only hope that the A.M.C comes good and delievers its initiatives, because it still is only early days yet.

The Pope’s a Catholic, bears shit in forests, and there are drugs in a prison system.
All that changes here is that its now a matter of official public record that the ACT cuddleprison has a drug problem.
So we’ll soon have an official drug-user policy reference group for decisions on issues in the prison?
(But I guess there won’t be any counterpoint by having an advocacy reference group comprised entirely of the non-drug users at the prison…)

farnarkler said :

‘He’s trying to convince the court that he needs to be out of prison because custodial life has got him using drugs again’

Surely this is a joke right? How do drugs get into prison in the first place? Any current or ex prison officer care to enlighten us?

Yeah, that’s correct. There are no drugs in prison.

They get contact with the outside world. While this keeps happening drugs will keep getting stuffed in places meant for other things.

AMC claims it is rehabilitating people.

Tetranitrate8:07 pm 03 Sep 10

farnarkler said :

Surely this is a joke right? How do drugs get into prison in the first place? Any current or ex prison officer care to enlighten us?

It’s pretty common knowledge that drugs get into prisons.
Whether it’s a meritorious argument is another thing entirely, but it’s certainly no joke.

What a tosser…

following in the jug throwing traditions of d. h. eastman.

Clown Killer6:55 pm 03 Sep 10

Surely this is a joke right? How do drugs get into prison in the first place?

I’ll type the answer slowly so it will be easier for people to understand: some drugs are smuggled in by people visiting prisoners. most are brought in by prison staff.

Pommy bastard6:02 pm 03 Sep 10

Who is this Rhys Brown?

‘He’s trying to convince the court that he needs to be out of prison because custodial life has got him using drugs again’

Surely this is a joke right? How do drugs get into prison in the first place? Any current or ex prison officer care to enlighten us?

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