Page 793 - Week 03 - Thursday, 2 April 2020
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keep the jail functioning as well as possible so that detainees are able to access as many activities as possible, have time outdoors and the like. I appreciate Mrs Jones’s comments about the audiovisual visits we have implemented as a way of trying to counteract the constraint on visits.
I assure the Assembly that in the context of trying to manage the jail through this challenging period the balance we will be seeking to strike is to provide a safe environment whilst at the same time not unduly limiting the freedoms of the detainees in the context in which they live.
The amendments to local leave permits are in two parts. The first will allow the commissioner, as the delegate for such matters, to grant a leave permit for any purpose to a detainee for up to 28 days instead of the current seven days. This avoids the unnecessary administrative burden at a very busy time of having to extend the leave permits and gives certainty to detainees about the leave they will be allowed.
The second will allow the commissioner to grant a leave permit for up to three months to allow for long-term medical treatment or palliative care but only on the advice of a doctor appointed under the Corrections Management Act. Again, this provides greater flexibility to respond to the needs of offenders during this crisis. It is intended that this power would only be used rarely.
The amendments to the Crimes (Sentence Administration) Act 2005 are intended to support the efficient operation of the Sentence Administration Board. The bill allows supervisory functions of the board to be carried out by a single judicial member of the board and allows the board to refuse a parole application at the inquiry stage without holding a hearing. These amendments respond to the current emergency in circumstances where it is not reasonably practicable for the board to convene three members and will prevent unnecessary delays in making decisions about parole and intensive correction orders.
The purpose of allowing the board to refuse a parole application is to ensure that the board is not overwhelmed by the requirement to hold hearings for parole applications where the application is lacking in critical information, such as housing or support services, that would allow an offender to be released into the community. To support the interests of the offender, the amendments require the board to tell them why the application is not progressing to a hearing, and the offender will be able to request a hearing after 14 days have passed. This will give time to the offender to address the concerns raised by the board and support the prospects of success on any future application.
The amendments also shorten notice periods to offenders. This is to allow the board to hear matters as quickly as possible during the current emergency. The amendments strike the right balance between speed and fairness for offenders during this period. There is also an amendment to provisions relating to offenders serving a sentence in the community and required to perform community service work. An offender can be taken to have performed community service work under a direction for the work period, under section 46 and section 91. The maximum that can be credited towards
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