21 August 2007

Simon Corbell and ACT Corrections like S&M

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The ACT Human Rights Commissioner has delivered a rather poor assessment of the current corrections system in the territory.

Persons being held in our remand centers are being subjected to the same degrading and dehumanizing treatment that one expects from a full on prison, whether they deserve it or not. Frequent strip searches, drug testing and S&M, oh I mean restraints for one’s own safety. In one case, a mentally ill person with HIV and pneumonia was chained to his bed!

See the story at ABC News Online here.

Okay, drug testing and strip searches are a must in full scale prisons where people have been found guilty and where drugs and smuggling items into prisons are a big issue. But in remand, this is overkill. It doesn’t exactly make things look any better for the new prison. However, Simon Corbell says the commissioner’s findings only add credence to the Government’s case for a new prison.

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Mike Crowther9:35 pm 06 Sep 07

I have carefully read the Human Rights Commissioner’s report and so feel qualified to comment. It has $$$$$$$$ stamped all over it. I cant wait to see what happens when the penny pinching purveyors of the Maconochie money-pit are confronted with the cost in dollars reality of providing every inmate with their own personal bottom wiper. I wonder how many preschools they’ll have to close to fund this one?

Thumper needs to be arrested for voluntary consumption of VB. And sanitised.

Having been a prison warden before (Mt Eden Prison for the pedants) I can assure you that the only method of control in remand that will work to control Frequent strip searches, drug testing and S&M is solitary.

Whilst I’m sure the Rioters would agree that the remand process is pretty much a swinging door process through to a magistrate, human rightsy kinds of people seem to concur that the little darlings need to have some contact with other little darlings while they are there. Hence the requirement to treat them in the same manner as fulltime prisoners, because it’s the intermingling that necessitates searching.

“Hi I just killed someone. Please lock me up.
Oh, and could I have a triple shot-low foam skinny-soy latte with a whisper of nutmeg and a dusting of cocoa.”

Indeed. To do that now would be a gross violation of a person’s human rights, especially if they don’t offer skim milk.

refused togive you breakfast thumper,
these Aussie prisons lack all the class of french ones. Even the worst offender is entitled to a freshly baked croissant, plunger of coffee and glass of chaeteu don perignion every morning. Well, that’s what I assume at least.

“Human Rights Commissioner is full of sh*t. On 666 this morning, she was on basically supporting the misguided view that a new prison would solve most of the problems.”

Which funnily enough, is also what Corbell’s chanting.

[ED – this post has been edited due to offensive content]

If anyone is genuinely interested in this issue, I recommend taking the time to read the full report, rather than just a news item. Full report is available here: http://www.hrc.act.gov.au/assets/docs/Corrections%20Audit%202007.pdf

“Being pissed is not an excuse for finding yourself in the lock up.

A bit of roughing up whilst they are in there might scare the living daylights out of some of them and make them wake up to themselves.”

That is a harsh and simplistic view. I had a teacher once who on one occassion got drunk and some other bloke who also had too many though the teacher was giving him a look. The teacher wasn’t but it turned into a fight despite his denials. Both were hauled to the police station and spent some time in the lock up.
On this occassion, they wren’t put in a remand centre, just the cells to sober up.
But this teacher had never been drunk like this before, was a person of good character and was deeply disappointed with himself. But had he being put in remand, do you really think that being subjected to such treatment (“roughing up” “scare the living daylights”) would have straitened him out. It wouldn’t have, just as it wouldn’t in many/most cases. Saying that it would is a generalisation.

P.S. Human Rights Commissioner is full of sh*t. On 666 this morning, she was on basically supporting the misguided view that a new prison would solve most of the problems. She was also pushing for needle exchange services in the prison and condoms.
Well, a new building isn’t going to slove the staff shortages, inadequette training of staff and the attitude of prisoners. That is pie in the sky. How much is the commissioner getting payed to be so useless?

Luckily for the Government.. anything their human rights commissioner says that they disagree with, they can ignore. the legislation has no binding powers what-so-ever.

I actually support the prison and a rehabilitation approach.

I just hope they can do it right… for starters they will have trouble filling their 40 thousand a year warden jobs. Most of those who get them will move into low level public service jobs within months.

barking toad8:22 am 22 Aug 07

This sort of lefty hippie drivel is what comes with bills of human rights. What exactly does a human rights commissioner do? Spout rubbish to justify the useless highly paid job.

Being pissed is not an excuse for finding yourself in the lock up.

A bit of roughing up whilst they are in there might scare the living daylights out of some of them and make them wake up to themselves.

We’re not talking about Guantanamo here.

I’m not a lefty, and I’m all for this sought of treatment for CONVICTED criminals. However someone is innocent until proven guilty.
If someone is in remand for a violent crime or is violent in custody or mentally impaired, the appropriate action should be taken. But is someone gets locked up for drinking a bit too much and doing something stupid (not serious), that doesn’t make them a hardened criminal, just foolish. So why should they be treated as the former.
One of the biggest and most widespread complaints about NSW jails is that for a time, most prisoners will go through a maximum security prison until classified by Corrective Services. This means that even low risk, low security prisoners will mix with some of the hardest scum in the system and be treated much the same as they are. If people are being treated this similarly in ACT Remand facilities, then it’s the same problem. Many low risk, low security offenders will be treated like much worse offenders, which harms there chances for rehabilitation and arguably hardens them to some extent. It is:
-counter-productive
-costly (in terms of liability and possible future law suits)

But my point really was if the ACT Government is spending a huge amount to build a jail to human rights standards, it rather defeats the purpose if all the other facilities are so slack.

Get off your leftist high horse.

If these people weren’t engaging in criminal-like behaviour (with many on to being fully charged for some offences; I’m sure the stats would show), they wouldn’t find themselves in the remand centre to start with.

What do you want for these people? Flowers and and a cup of tea?

When some drug addled welfare recipient confronts you with a knife in Manuka, give him a hug.

What do we have a fcuking human rights commissioner for in the first place?

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