Two brothers attempt suicide within 12 hours and AVS officers not called in

Gerry Georgatos
Western Australia’s Greenough Prison has at this time no Aboriginal Visitors Scheme (AVS) according to AVS officer Joyce Capewell and confirmed by the Department of Corrective Services (DCS). In February, two young Aboriginal brothers, around 20 years of age, attempted suicide by hanging, were found in their cells and cut down - such is the despair in Greenough Prison which Mrs Capewell describes. The AVS officers were not allowed to assist the brothers.

Mrs Capewell , who has 20 years as an AVS officer, said she has been ostracised for speaking out and is involved in various mediation however has decided not to return to work till she can resolve reinstatement of the AVS and the full suite of her duties. The AVS scheme at this time is not in place at Greenough Prison. She, and Elders from the local Aboriginal communities are distraught as to the welfare of the predominant Aboriginal prison population. Greenough Prison does not have an impressive track record – it is where young Aboriginal man Marlon Noble spent ten years, from age 19, without a conviction.

Mrs Capewell is concerned for the many Aboriginal inmates she was assisting and is particularly concerned about the welfare of the two young brothers.

“I have realised that I can no long remain silent... The cessation of the AVS scheme for the time being hurts our prisoners, their families and all Aboriginal peoples, it hurts me too,” said Mrs Capewell.

She said that if the Department of Corrective Services did not instruct Greenough Prison to reinstate the AVS “then we are standing by and will watch deaths in custody continue their rise.”

Mrs Capewell said that the cessation of the scheme is not limited to Greenough however regionally it is increasingly widespread. “The scheme in our Yamatji regions has deteriorated to the extent where currently we do not have any AVS operating in our Yamatji lands.”

“(The) AVS has not operated in lockups in the Yamatji for the three years now. Similarly at Greenough between 2009 to 2011,” said Mrs Capewell.

There have been three custodial deaths at Greenough Prison during the last three years, and many suicide attempts, including multiple attempts.

“On February 8, myself and a new co-worker attended Greenough Prison at 9am. As we went through the front gate a ‘red code alert’ went out – accompanied by an emergency siren. We had to wait for an hour at the gate. There had been an attempted suicide by a twenty year old Aboriginal man. We soon learned that the previous night, his brother had attempted suicide,” said Mrs Capewell.

“Imagine our horror and dismay.”

“My first question was ‘Why weren’t the AVS called in last night?” said Mrs Capewell.

The National Indigenous Times has highlighted this question in a set of questions to the Department of Corrective Services.

Mrs Capewell said, “There was no response to my question... The AVS is on call, it is a 24/7 service. It’s what we are here for.”

In the event of a suicide the AVS need to be called in to be there for the grieving family however also for the prison’s inmates, and similarly when there is an attempted suicide, self harm or injury, or the need for psychosocial-like support and counselling.

“In my 20 years of AVS this is the only time I have come across two young brothers trying to take their lives.”

Mrs Capewell was not permitted to meet with the young man that had just attempted suicide and instead a little later he was taken away by ambulance.

“(Aboriginal) prisoners will advise, ‘We don’t want to talk to white-fellas when we feel no good. We want to see our mob, the AVS. White-fellas don’t know our ways.”

Mrs Capewell said she has often observed the mental anguish of many Aboriginal inmates who are not properly understood by prison support staff and non-Aboriginal prison counsellors. “There must be Aboriginal cultural awareness (training) for those dealing with our Aboriginal folk.”

She said current practices limit the opportunity for any sense of ‘rehabilitation’.

“Several days after the attempted suicide of the two young brothers they were sent to Casuarina Prison for various assessment,” said Mrs Capewell. “However, to my dismay, two weeks later they were just returned to Greenough Prison like nothing had ever occurred.”

“Some of the prison staff were shocked.”

“I wanted to assist the brothers but I was denied this because Corrective Services misused the need to roster a co-worker with me, and at the time this wasn’t possible. This is a senselessly racist policy.” The AVS has a requirement that AVS workers must work in pairs.

Mrs Capewell said there had been little activity in DCS recruiting AVS workers in and to the region.

“Then it got worse. All of a sudden I was informed that I was not able to enter the prison without a paired co-worker – I could not even do my other work, my follow-up work.”

“I had performed many AVS duties, on numerous occasions without a co-worker. I had attended crisis situations without a co-worker. I am sure that all of a sudden DCS and AVS management will deny this, as they quite often limit what they will publicly say. In fact for four months prior this sudden harassment of myself in trying to prohibit my work and contact with our people I had been without a partner, without a co-worker and doing my job well enough and working for those who need us.”

DCS spokesperson Brian Cowie said that the DCS is not at liberty to discuss the AVS and Mrs Capewell’s predicament at length. “The DCS is not in a position to discuss the employment status or personal details of employees, nor does the department comment on the management or health of individual prisoners.”

“The AVS has established itself as a successful initiative to assist in reducing the incidents of self-harm and deaths of Aboriginal people in custody in Western Australia through visiting prisons, juvenile detention centres and police lock-ups. The scheme has pioneered counselling techniques for Aboriginal people and promotes a greater understanding to government and other agencies of the particular needs and concerns of Aboriginal people in custody. AVS visitors are employed on a casual, rostered basis,” said Mr Cowie.

“AVS visitors work in pairs and currently the department is recruiting further visitors to complete the allocated two positions at Greenough Regional Prison,” he said.

The National Indigenous Times will continue to follow this story and has filed further questions with DCS and the state government as to why the two rostered AVS officers were not called in to the suicide attempt of the brother on the previous evening, and this may have prevented the suicide attempt of the other brother, had he received counselling from Mrs Capewell and her co-worker. Other questions include why Greenough Prison has been without AVS officers for so long, and similarly in other regional custodial facilities.

LINKS:

http://www.correctiveservices.wa.gov.au/rehabilitation-services/aborigin...
The Aboriginal Visitors Scheme (AVS) is a group of Aboriginal staff who visit prisons and detention centres around the state, providing support and counselling to Aboriginal people in custody

http://www.aic.gov.au/events/aic%20upcoming%20events/1999/~/media/confer...
In response to recommendation twenty (20) of the Western Australian Interim Inquiry into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, which reads as follows, “Consistent with the effective management of Prison ad Police lockups an Aboriginal Visitor Scheme should be developed and Implemented”
The Aboriginal Visitors Scheme was established and introduced as a pilot program in the Goldfields town of Kalgoorlie in July1988. Due to the success of this initiative, the program was expanded to service other selected prisons and lockups. Today prisons and selected lockups in WA are serviced by the Aboriginal Visitors Scheme (AVS).
The Aboriginal Visitors Scheme was originally coordinated by the Aboriginal Affairs planning authority (AAPA) (now the Aboriginal Affairs Department) before being transferred to the Ministry of Justice in March 1994. Although administered by the Ministry, the Aboriginal Visitors Scheme has been able to retain its autonomy and confidentiality in providing an independent support service for indigenous people in custody

http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs112.aspx
On 10 August 1987 Prime Minister Hawke announced the formation of a Royal Commission to investigate the causes of deaths of Aboriginal people while held in State and Territory gaols. The Royal Commission was established in response to a growing public concern that deaths in custody of Aboriginal people were too common and poorly explained. The Letters Patent formally establishing the Commission were issued by the Governor-General on 16 October 1987. Similar Letters Patent were issued by the States and the Northern Territory

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