Page 2210 - Week 06 - Thursday, 6 June 2019
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ACT Corrective Services continues to segregate and separate detainees where necessary, as at the present time the design of the AMC does not allow for complete separation to occur, especially with increased detainee numbers. The issue of separation continues to be addressed by Corrective Services through the refreshing and review of existing policies and the introduction of pro-social methods of detainee management. These include the implementation of the ACT Corrective Services rehabilitation framework and the development of the AMC’s operational model.
On 15 February this year the ACT government announced new funding to support the building communities not prisons initiatives. This has seen an initial $14.5 million of funds dedicated to a range of community programs, legislative reforms and policy initiatives. As part of the building communities not prisons strategy, the ACT government is investing $997,000 to design the Alexander Maconochie Centre reintegration centre, which will add another 80 beds. Formerly known as the transitional release centre, it will allow a range of rehabilitation and reintegration programs to be delivered in partnership with non-government and government agencies.
At the time of the review, Corrective Services did not have a specific policy pertaining to remand detainees. This will be rectified with the remand policy that will be notified by 30 June this year. The remand policy will set out the general principles for the management of detainees on remand. It states that remand detainees are to be subject to fewer restrictions than sentenced detainees and recognises the presumption of innocence for any offence for which the detainee is remanded. It also establishes the broad arrangements for remand detainees to maintain their ties to the community and attend to their legal matters.
ACT Corrective Services acknowledges that, at the time of the report, the management of newly received detainees was not best practice, as it did not maximise access to time out of cells. The process for managing new reception detainees at the time was originally implemented as a direct result of the Moss review. The recommendations of the Moss review were very seriously considered by the government, as the government was required to improve practices after the tragic death of Aboriginal man Steven Freeman at the AMC in 2016. The Moss review concluded:
… had measures and processes adopted since Steven Freeman’s assault been in place when he was admitted, including the assessment of new receptions in a separate unit generally for five days, the likelihood of his being assaulted would have been significantly reduced.
The separation regime for new detainees at that time allowed sufficient time for intelligence checks of all new detainees at the AMC to occur with ACT Policing and youth justice, to inform appropriate accommodation placement. A full review of the induction process is being undertaken in 2019 to enhance current practice and embed a full program aimed at utilising those critical first few days within the AMC as both an information provision and an assessment period for new detainees.
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