Page 359 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 20 February 2018
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By way of example, in November 2017 all female detainees were relocated to another accommodation unit within the AMC due to increased detainee numbers. This new arrangement has provided an opportunity for ACT Corrective Services to establish a structured day within the unit. This will progress to a pro-social model of detainee management that includes the introduction of an incentive and earned privilege scheme within the AMC. Once these initiatives are refined within the women’s area they will be rolled out to all detainees in the AMC in a staged approach. These changes further address some of the conclusions under recommendation 9 to improve the management, care and custody of detainees in compliance with human rights obligations.
Since the assault on Steven Freeman, the admission process in the AMC has been further developed and strengthened, noting that Mr Freeman was seriously assaulted soon after his initial admission. In response, new admissions are now initially accommodated in a section of a cell block at the AMC for a period of five to seven days, where they are placed under an observation regime. During this time a number of assessments are conducted with the detainee by ACT Health and ACT Corrective Services. Further intelligence checks are undertaken to gain additional information about the detainee’s history and any potential association risks.
An assessment of safety and security risk is undertaken, with a final review of all the information being made by a senior Corrective Services officer before a detainee is placed in more permanent accommodation. This process is vital to ensuring the appropriate placement of detainees and reducing risk. Further work to refine assessment and intelligence processes continues, and the addition of the ACT Corrective Services intelligence unit, for which additional funding was announced last week, will strengthen risk assessment processes.
The safety and care of detainees in the AMC is fundamental. ACT Corrective Services responded quickly to recommendation 1 to provide improved security and care of detainees at the AMC. Improved security measures, including enhanced CCTV coverage, were implemented across the AMC to provide a safer environment and to reduce incidents of violence. Since Steven Freeman’s assault, additional CCTV cameras have been installed at the AMC, bringing the total number of cameras to 525.
CCTV is an important evidentiary tool to support the successful investigation of assaults in the AMC so that offenders can be held accountable. The enhanced CCTV system has strong maintenance support through a service provider to meet monthly compliance checks. The system has the capacity to capture footage for 90 days, and any footage that is reviewed is stored electronically for an indefinite period.
ACT Corrective Services policies and procedures for camera setting, movement and recording have been updated to establish best practice standards for operating CCTV in a custodial environment. ACT Corrective Services has also introduced a training package that will see all relevant staff trained in operating the CCTV system by March 2018. The training program is also embedded into new recruit training and regular refresher training is provided to corrections officers.
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