Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services

1
International Study tour possible focus areas

• Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services
• By
• Mpho Mathabathe

2
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.

3
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

4
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

5
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

6
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

7
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.

8
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

9
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

10
LESSONS FROM THE PAST
Parole system in Queensland (Cont.)

• 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

11
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.

12
PAST EXPERIENCE/CHALLENGES
Victim Register

• 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.

13
Overcrowding
Victims Register (Cont..)

• Information that can be provided includes
  offenders eligible date for release, the
  correctional centre, results for application for
  parole and information about an offenders escape
  or death
• The victim can also make a representation during
  an offenders application for parole

14
Integrated Justice System
Female offender and mother with babies

• 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

15
Care and Development
Female offenders and mothers with babies (Cont..)

• 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

16
Social Reintegration
Female offenders and mothers with babies (Cont..)

• 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.

17
Facilities
England and Wales (United Kingdom)

• 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

18
Prison Labour
Prison population

• 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

19
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

20
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

21
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.

22
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.

23
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.

24
Inspectorate for Prisons

• Her Majestys 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.

25
Private prisons

• Private prisons were introduced in the 1990s 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

26
Private prisons (Cont..)

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

27
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

28
Reducing repeat offending (Cont..)

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

29
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.

30
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

31
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.

32
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

33
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.

34
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

35
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.