it is time once more to look at and evaluate several actions being initiated by the nsw government and their desire, or otherwise, of attempting to humanise the custodial systems that they, ultimately, are responsible for.
in this post we will be considering the moves relative to the removal of commissioner ron woodham from the misnamed corrective services, the proposed introduction of a re-established inspector-general for the gaols of nsw and those who work or are incarcerated within them, the absolute imperative of making positive changes to the bail act hopefully to make it work better and the positive push from the teachers union to make it happen.
we begin with the unsurprising move from attorney-general, greg smith, to retire commissioner ron woodham and to replace him with a less authoritarian figure in the hope that such a change would be less brutal and onerous than the system ran by ron over the last decade or more.
i first met ron back in the early 90's when he was the senior assistant commissioner who actually had the gaol system in the palm of his hand regardless of who was actually the commissioner at the time. it was strongly rumoured, and not denied, that when the government of bob carr came to power they had a resignation letter for ron to sign but that never happened. for a lot of political reasons. ron continued until reaching the role of commissioner until now.
at our meetings at roden cutler house in the haymarket i, and i assume other community representatives, watched him flex his significant power to run the system to the way he wanted it run. we, as the watch committee, would ask that a certain aboriginal inmate be transferred to another gaol closer to his family, or to attend a funereal, etc. he would walk to the phone, say 'ron here, do it' and then hang up. his power was palpable and for the time that he was favourable of aborigines in the system (that was to change years later) i found that if a good case could be put to him he would ok it.
he was most useful for allowing aborigines to attend funerals, sometimes even flying them to these sorry business events. he absolutely exuded power and authority and whilst he was amenable to our requests we worked ok but i always knew that such power as he had could be used against you if he so wished. and by the late 90's he did so wish when both isja and i were banned from all nsw gaols for life. of course, for those who daily suffered ron's authority his sobriquet of 'rotten ron' was well earned and his vindictiveness was well known when he used his powers against those inmates (and officers) who had previously upset him. though the parole board would strongly recommend parole for some long-term inmate, ron would override it. often his power was used for the petty reason that he could and no one would question him. certainly no cs minister would. until greg smith.
if there is going to be real change in the system then many agree that ron must go. and some of his executive clique.
his replacement, to me, is an unknown quantity and he, peter severin, must be given time to initiate positive changes in a system much divided in their loyalties or otherwise of ron's regime. greg wants the recidivism rates to drop and for the gaols to be run not as a harsh terrorist camp for all but time will tell and i personally wish greg and peter the very best with their endeavours. such change is far overdue.
it is also up to the government to properly fund the programs and changes required to make such positive changes and savings, eventually, to save gaol dollars that can then be put into justice re-investment programs and procedures.
all in the fullness of time. hopefully.
New NSW Prisons boss
Tuesday, June 26, 2012 » 04:26pm
South Australia's prisons boss Peter Severin will replace longstanding NSW Corrective Services Commissioner Ron Woodham.
Mr Severin, a German-born veteran of South Australian and Queensland prisons, replaces Ron Woodham who is retiring after a decade running NSW jails.
While Mr Smith praised Mr Woodham's 43-year career in NSW Corrective Services, he said Mr Severin had achieved the nation's lowest reoffending rate for four years running during his tenure as chief executive of the South Australian Department for Correctional Services.
In South Australia, 30 per cent of ex-prisoners committed crimes within two years of being released, which compared 'sadly' to 43 per cent in NSW, the attorney-general said.
'I'm hoping that under his leadership, we'll be able to drive down the reoffending rate, which is one of the matters that's important so far as I'm concerned in running the corrective services portfolio,' Mr Smith told reporters on Tuesday.
'He has ideas. I've met him. I've been very impressed with him, as was the selection committee.
'He was the outstanding candidate.'
During his nine years heading South Australia's prison system, Mr Severin has championed case-managed rehabilitation programs for prisoners and drug offenders.
He served earlier as the deputy director-general of Queensland Corrective Services.
While the state government is yet to respond officially to the Law Reform Commission's recommendation earlier this month to overhaul bail laws, including introducing a presumption of bail for all but the most violent offences, Mr Smith indicated he agreed with their broad position.
'People who aren't a risk to our community shouldn't be refused bail unless they've done previous things or they're threatening things,' he said.
Mr Woodham, who continues in his role for several months until Mr Severin finishes in South Australia, called to congratulate his successor on his five-year appointment, which had input from Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione.
'I congratulate Peter Severin on his appointment as the new Corrective Services Commissioner of NSW,' he said in a statement to AAP.
'I will be conducting a formal handover when he commences duty and I will assist him wherever possible.'
Shadow attorney-general Paul Lynch welcomed the appointment of Mr Severin but questioned how he would reduce the reoffending rate.
'While I welcome the appointment of the new commissioner, I struggle to see how his department will be able to reduce reoffending given that Attorney-General Greg Smith has failed to deliver on his promised $20 million boost to education services for prisoners,' he said in a statement.
Premier Barry O'Farrell said Mr Severin would have a big task taking over from Mr Woodham.
'Ron Woodham has done a fantastic job, and I was keen, as were others, to ensure that whoever had to try and fill his shoes, which is going to be a mammoth job, has the sort of hands-on experience necessary,' he told Macquarie Radio.
when the previous inspector-general was appointed by the carr government it was welcomed by most but not by woodham and others of his ilk. the ig at that time was lindsay le compte and he was very enthusiastic about his role and powers within the gaol system. he was most definitely an activist in performing his duties. he became reponsible for all nsw official visitors and for their training. by the time he came along he was indeed a breath of fresh air and official visitors had a completely independent person we could talk to about our work in the gaol system.
originally when i became an official visitor in 1997 i was appointed by then cs minister, bob debus, who over a 10 year span proved to be the best minister we had over that period. as official visitors we had an open-door policy with him and we also had full access to his ministerial unit with our problems and complaints. we were totally independant, as the act stated we must be, of corrective services despite making 6 monthly reports to woodham. when bob moved to the federal scene we lost that independance from following ministers who were happy to leave things to ron so the ig was bloody marvelous. lyndsay however did not have a second term and the ig role was abolished. by the time i left in 2007 all official visitors were under the full control of ron and we were little more than glorified and overpaid welfare workers. some attempted to remain independant but most buckled.
if and when the position is brought back it is hoped that there will be a return to that independance. i am firmly of the opinion that greg as the justice minister again allows direct access to himself and his ministerial unit for the ov's.
but we will have to wait and see as there is a rumour going around that the new ig will work only with gaol staff and leave the inmates and the ov's out of the equation.
and now we come to the nsw bail act that greg smith wants to change to a more fairer and equitable system but his leader, premier barry o'farrell, is very much on the record as saying the bail laws will not be weakened by his government as he is being advised by hadley, jones and others of the verbal vomit espousing their lock-em-up-and-throw-away-the-key requirements for true law and order to occur.
the bail act was monstered up by the real law and order premier, bob carr, again guided by those mentioned above. carr took away the right of presumption of bail being given to one of presumption that bail would not be given. should bail be granted and then breached, for whatever reason - legitimate or otherwise - then the offender was sent back to gaol. prior to the draconian changes made by carr the offender would return to gaol, cool his heels for 3 weeks then he/she would have the right to appeal to the parole board for release once more. this seemed to carr and others however to highlight the complaint that gaol was becoming a revolving door, so how to stop it? easy. take away the door and/or brick it up. no more revolving door.
the system put in place now sends the inmate back to gaol if parole was breached and there they stayed for the remainder of their top sentence that could add years to their gaol time. whether the parolee had breached by committing another crime or had merely missed a meeting with the parole officer was of no consequence, back to gaol you went. this had no rehabilitive effect whatsoever and only continued to fill the existing gaols up and the excuse to build more. this of course built ron's empire that now has to be dismantled by peter severin, with greg's help.
as stated above however there does now seem to be a difference of opinion within the o'farrell government as to what, if any, changes need to be made to the bail act that would allow for a drop in incarceration rates and the consequent savings that would go to justice re-investment programs as all these planned changes are linked.
i fully support what greg smith is trying to achieve with changes to the bail act and i have let him know of my support and when i became aware that the teachers federation were also in support i went to their forum on 6 june expecting to find other gaol and legal activists there but i found only the teachers executive and council members. the redfern aboriginal legal service was however represented. overall it was a good meeting.
the following paperwork shows quite clearly why such support for greg is required. there is not much more that i can say as i fully support the resolutions accepted unaminously by the forum and to merely point out that the nsw police union and force argue that no change is required.
there is a major chasm as to what the public want, and ministers of sane and moral mind, and to what the police see as justice. that is why i have such great concerns about the introduction of justice re-investment as they must have no control or part in any program.
please support greg in his required changes to the bail act.
Mr Greg Smith, MP,
Attorney General of NSW,
Level 31 Governor Macquarie Tower,
I Farrer Place,
Sydney NSW. 2000.
Dear Mr Smith,
13 April, 2012.
In 2010 the Bail Reform Alliance held a number of meetings with you concerning the
need for bail reform for adults and juveniles. At that time you made a number of
statements concerning the need for reform and your belief that there was a need for an
independent view by a retired judge of the state of the Bail Act,1978. (See for example
SMH l8 June2 010).it was impressive that upon appointment as Attorney General you
followed through on this commitment by requesting the NSW Law Reform Commission
to carry out the study. According to that organisation's website the Report was handed to
yourself on Wednesday I I April 2012.
The NSW Council for Civil Liberties, the NSW Public Service Association, the NSW
Teachers Federation and the NSW Welfare Rights Centre seek an urgent meeting to
discuss several matters of concern that have arisen in recent months. In early February
the Daily Telegraph attacked the idea of major reform on bail in a series of articles. The
articles made reference to police opposition to potential reform. The position of the police
opposing a number of major reforms is to be found in their submission to the NSWLRC
enquiry. The fact that the Report had not been provided to you did not stop the attacks in
the Daily Telegraph.
It is possible to meet these attacks by positive publicity and public meetings organised by
those who want reform. It does not seem likely that major reforms in relation to bail for
adults and juveniles will occur if the tabloids,shock jocks and the police activists are
publicly demanding little change and the only voice defending major reform, as
presumably will be found in the Report, is your own. It is already noticeable that
discussion is more and more on the need for reform for juveniles. Indeed, youth and the
number of young people on remand is an important reason for bringing about reform.
However, the need for major reform in relation to adults is also needed. It would be
disappointing if public expectation in relationt to adults and juveniles is to be lowered
before the Report is even debated.
Representatives of the above organisations wish to discuss:
Gaining an assurance that there will be a public debate about all aspects of the Report
relating to adults and juveniles before legislation is placed before the Parliament;
Making the Report public as soon as possible so those who want to support major reform
may organize the effort to do so;
Providing you with the assurance that you will not be left to defend reform by yourself if
there is to be a major public debate about bail reform for adults and juveniles.
Yours faithfully,
Max Taylor.
Ph 987334 38.
12 McKechnie Street Epping. NSW. 2121.
RESOLUTIONS FOR FORUM 6 JUNE 2012.
This meeting rejects as unacceptable the appalling human and financial cost in keeping
huge numbers of the poor, the young, the homeless, the intellectually and physically
impaired, the drug affected and the indigenous in custody on remand.
. 26.2% of those in adult custody are on remand; the figure was 12.3% in 1982.
(NSW Inmate census 2011, Corrective Services)
.There has been a 519% increase in the total adult Aboriginal remand population
since 1994; (Corrective Services submission to NSWLRC enquiry into bail);
o 55% of persons on remand released from custody were 'unconvicted' on their day
of release; (Corective Services submission to NSWLRC enquiry into bail).
. in 2010-201I the average daily number of young people remanded in custody
awaiting the finalisation of court proceedings was 193 out of an average daily
total of 391. (Annual Report Summary Juvenile Justice)
. It costs over $l billion a year to run adult gaols and $l14 million a year for
custodial services in juvenile justice. (Facts and Figures, Corective Services and
Annual Report Summary Juvenile Justice)
This crisis has been caused by 34 years of amendments to the Bail Act, in many
cases to meet some short term political need to appear tough on law and order. We
demand:
Restoration of the presumption in favour of bail for all crimes where there is not a
right to bail.
Removal of the concept of bail for some categories of crime 'only in exceptional
circumstances'.
Removal of all aspects of s22A of the Bail Act that make second and further bail
applications unreasonably difficult.
That the tests for bail be cleared of clutter and based only on the chances of the
defendant absconding, the rights of the accused and the welfare and protection of
the community.
Conditions for bail that reflect a rising hierarchy of conditions commencing with
non-monetary provisions and are not cluttered with other provisos.
Serious consideration of the resources needed to deal with homelessness and bail.
Educational initiatives for all prisoners based on the money saved by having
fewer people on remand.
This meeting has considered the response of the Attorney General dated 25 May 2012 to
the letter from the convener of the Bail Reform Alliance dated 13 April 20l2.We note that the
Report will be tabled by mid-June. That is in accordance with the NSW Law Reform
Commission Act, 1967. However, we remain concerned that there is no finishing date for
public debate. Forty submissions were put beforet he NSW Law
Reform Commission and they represented a cross section of opinion on bail. A public
debate should not last more than two months. An open ended debate will allow shock
jocks and those opposed to bail reform to relentlessly create fear and division in the
community and mock reforms that are needed.
The changes set out above are all consistent with the I 976 Bail Review Committee
Report and should be implemented at an early date.
We demand:
o That public discussion be confined to two months from the release of the Report
and that the Government facilitate debate in which all points of view are
available. Failure to set such a date will be viewed as directly assisting those who
want no change to bail laws as it will assist their use of the massive resources at
their disposal.
SECOND RESOLUTION
That those in attendance at this meeting will approach their Member of Parliament and
call on the Member to support the initiatives set out in the first resolution.
It is possible to meet these attacks by positive publicity and public meetings organised by
those who want reform. It does not seem likely that major reforms in relation to bail for
adults and juveniles will occur if the tabloids, shock jocks and the police activists are
publicly demanding little change and the only voice defending major reform, as
presumably will be found in the Report, is your own. It is already noticeable that
discussion is more and more on the need for reform for juveniles. Indeed, youth and the
number of young people on remand is an important reason for bringing about reform.
However, the need for major reform in relation to adults is also needed. It would be
disappointing if public expectation in relation to adults and juveniles is to be lowered
before the Report is even debated.
Representatives of the above organisations wish to discuss:
Gaining an assurance that there will be a public debate about all aspects of the Report
relating to adults and juveniles before legislation is placed before the Parliament;
Making the Report public as soon as possible so those who want to support major reform
may organize the effort to do so;
Providing you with the assurance that you will not be left to defend reform by yourself if
there is to be a major public debate about bail reform for adults and juveniles.