Heath Aston | Sun Herald | May 13, 2012
Prison officers will be able to air their grievances to an independent body without fear of retribution in one of the biggest shake-ups of the NSW jail system.
An inspector of prisons will be appointed in tandem with a new Corrective Services Commissioner, The Sun-Herald can reveal. The new position will be announced by the state government today, just weeks after it showed long-time Commissioner Ron Woodham the door.
The inspector of custodial services will work with Mr Woodham's replacement, but will only answer to Parliament and the Attorney-General, Greg Smith.
Representatives of the state's 3800 prison officers welcomed the creation of the inspectorate but warned the inspector must be allowed to ''implement reform, not just spruik it''.
Mr Smith said the inspector would be a champion for prisons and prisons officers. ''He or she will go into bat for anyone who feels the system can be improved, and anyone who provides information will be protected,'' he said.
''The new position will build public confidence in the justice system and ensure that correctional facilities are safe, secure and operate to a high standard. Prison officers will also be able to air their concerns without fear of being harassed or having their careers prejudiced as a result of assisting an inspector.''
Government sources said the creation of an independent inspector was a direct strike at the opaque structure of the present prison system under the leadership of Mr Woodham, the ''old school'' chief who rose from prison warden to commissioner to hold the top job for the past decade.
Mr Smith was frustrated at being stonewalled when seeking information last year over the death in Grafton jail of Ian Klum, a 52-year-old locked up for traffic offences. Surveillance footage showed prison officers looking on as Mr Klum crawled between cells before later dying of a brain haemorrhage.
Mr Woodham's replacement is expected to be in place by July 1.
The inspector will deal with all complaints from wardens and visitors while prisoners will still take their complaints to the ombudsman.
The position will be legislated in the Inspector of Custodial Services Bill 2012, to be introduced to Parliament shortly.
The inspector, who will be appointed to a five-year term - and can only be reappointed once - is likely to be drawn from the ranks of the judiciary. The independent statutory body led by the inspector will have jurisdiction over all correctional centres, including juvenile institutions, residential facilities, transitional centres and court and police cells managed by Corrective Services or Juvenile Justice.
The position will be modelled on an independent inspector in Western Australia. A similar position exists in systems in England, Scotland and Wales.
Showing posts with label NSW Corrective Services. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NSW Corrective Services. Show all posts
Monday, May 14, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
'Rotten' Ron Woodham turns up the screws
Matthew Moore and Malcolm Knox | SMH | December 6, 2008
Hard time ... Ron Woodham faces the press after an escape from Long Bay jail in 1996.
Photo: Sam Rutherford
RON WOODHAM has never shied away from a fight and, despite his age and his failing health, he showed in his stoush with Bassam Hamzy this week he is not about to change.
Hamzy, a convicted murderer, is suing Woodham for putting him in isolation in Lithgow Jail for allegedly planning an escape attempt from Goulburn Jail. So when police and prison staff suspected Hamzy was using a mobile phone allegedly to run a multi-million dollar drug ring from his cell in Lithgow, the Commissioner of NSW Corrective Services could not resist the chance to swipe back.
"I've got a message for this particular individual," he said after his staff released video footage of a mobile phone apparently being slipped into a cell. "If he thinks he has been isolated before and complained about it, wait till he sees what he's got tomorrow."
It is vintage Woodham. For decades he has been attacked by all sides of politics, criticised by staff and by those attempting reform in prisons. He has been investigated repeatedly by the Independent Commission Against Corruption and always cleared. Yet his grip on the top job in the country's biggest prison system has rarely looked more secure.
For decades he has worn the name of "rotten", but it is his mud-repelling Teflon skin that better characterises his reign. The only NSW prison officer ever to make it to the top job, Woodham joined Corrective Services in 1965 and in the 43 years since he has honed skills acquired in an environment where survival is prized above all.
No other public servant has successfully weathered such a steady stream of allegations over such a long period. The fact Woodham is still there is because he knows running jails is different from running trains or hospitals where clients complain when services fall short. His clients seldom complain and, if they do, he knows how to fight back.
He builds networks that have helped ensure his survival.
As he told John Hatzistergos at a farewell dinner he threw in 2005 when the prisons minister ended his first stint in the portfolio: "My job was to protect your back."
Hatzistergos had an almost identical recollection of how their relationship works. "I do recall the first day Ron Woodham came into my office. He said to me, 'My job is to see that at the end of your term you are bruised, not battered'."
Unlike many of his limping cabinet colleagues, Hatzistergos finished his stint as minister for jails with barely a mark on him, a marked contrast to the pounding predecessors have suffered over the years when riots and bashings and escapes dominated headlines.
He is 20 months into his second stint in the portfolio, and it is proving to be even more of a walk in the park, with barely an issue he has been compelled to address.
Hatzistergos knows the quiet life he enjoys is thanks to the all-powerful man at the top.
"Anyone can run Corrective Services when Ron Woodham is in charge," he said.
Hard time ... Ron Woodham faces the press after an escape from Long Bay jail in 1996.
Photo: Sam Rutherford
RON WOODHAM has never shied away from a fight and, despite his age and his failing health, he showed in his stoush with Bassam Hamzy this week he is not about to change.
Hamzy, a convicted murderer, is suing Woodham for putting him in isolation in Lithgow Jail for allegedly planning an escape attempt from Goulburn Jail. So when police and prison staff suspected Hamzy was using a mobile phone allegedly to run a multi-million dollar drug ring from his cell in Lithgow, the Commissioner of NSW Corrective Services could not resist the chance to swipe back.
"I've got a message for this particular individual," he said after his staff released video footage of a mobile phone apparently being slipped into a cell. "If he thinks he has been isolated before and complained about it, wait till he sees what he's got tomorrow."
It is vintage Woodham. For decades he has been attacked by all sides of politics, criticised by staff and by those attempting reform in prisons. He has been investigated repeatedly by the Independent Commission Against Corruption and always cleared. Yet his grip on the top job in the country's biggest prison system has rarely looked more secure.
For decades he has worn the name of "rotten", but it is his mud-repelling Teflon skin that better characterises his reign. The only NSW prison officer ever to make it to the top job, Woodham joined Corrective Services in 1965 and in the 43 years since he has honed skills acquired in an environment where survival is prized above all.
No other public servant has successfully weathered such a steady stream of allegations over such a long period. The fact Woodham is still there is because he knows running jails is different from running trains or hospitals where clients complain when services fall short. His clients seldom complain and, if they do, he knows how to fight back.
He builds networks that have helped ensure his survival.
As he told John Hatzistergos at a farewell dinner he threw in 2005 when the prisons minister ended his first stint in the portfolio: "My job was to protect your back."
Hatzistergos had an almost identical recollection of how their relationship works. "I do recall the first day Ron Woodham came into my office. He said to me, 'My job is to see that at the end of your term you are bruised, not battered'."
Unlike many of his limping cabinet colleagues, Hatzistergos finished his stint as minister for jails with barely a mark on him, a marked contrast to the pounding predecessors have suffered over the years when riots and bashings and escapes dominated headlines.
He is 20 months into his second stint in the portfolio, and it is proving to be even more of a walk in the park, with barely an issue he has been compelled to address.
Hatzistergos knows the quiet life he enjoys is thanks to the all-powerful man at the top.
"Anyone can run Corrective Services when Ron Woodham is in charge," he said.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith in row with shock jock Ray Hadley
Nick Leys | The Australian | 22 November 2011
NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith has engaged in a slanging match with Sydney shock jock Ray Hadley over claims he called his listeners "rednecks" and readers of the city's daily tabloid "bigoted fools".
Sources in the Liberal Party claim Mr Smith made the comments at a Liberal branch Christmas party on Saturday night in Beecroft in Sydney's northwest.
Hadley, an often controversial radio presenter and a columnist for The Daily Telegraph, told 2GB listeners yesterday he was "disappointed" to hear of the comments, given his support for the Attorney-General.
"Apparently and allegedly -- and this has been confirmed by three sources, including people who took a transcript of Mr Smith's off-the-cuff speech -- he spoke at length about the 'rednecks' who listen to my program . . . you, his constituents," Hadley said. "And he spoke in detail about the bigoted fools who read The Daily Telegraph. He spoke about my support of a public servant whom he didn't name and my continued support of this public servant, a public servant he wants to get rid of, apparently, but whom the Premier has expressed a desire to keep."
During a seven-minute conversation that dropped out twice, Hadley and Mr Smith then argued about what was said and whether the Attorney-General supports NSW prisons boss Ron Woodham.
Hadley accused Mr Smith of "going back to your Labor Party ways" -- a reference to his membership of the party nearly 20 years ago.
Several times Mr Smith denied the remarks, but he admitted using the term "rednecks" when discussing people who "supported a culture in NSW prisons that existed in the past".
"I have been taken out of context," he said.
"Clearly I have some people in the Liberal Party who will do anything to poison you or poison you towards me."
The slanging match ended when Mr Smith's line dropped out for a second time.
Yesterday, the Attorney-General released a statement, in which he declared: "I did not disparage readers of The Daily Telegraph in any way.
"In fact, I said that while they normally take an aggressive line on law and order, the Telegraph and radio stations 2GB and 2UE had been prepared to give the government a fair go as we argue success on law and order should not be judged alone in terms of how tough sentences are or how many people are locked up."
Hadley could not be contacted yesterday.
Listen to the interview here
and some more Hadley ranting on Smith the next day
NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith has engaged in a slanging match with Sydney shock jock Ray Hadley over claims he called his listeners "rednecks" and readers of the city's daily tabloid "bigoted fools".
Sources in the Liberal Party claim Mr Smith made the comments at a Liberal branch Christmas party on Saturday night in Beecroft in Sydney's northwest.
Hadley, an often controversial radio presenter and a columnist for The Daily Telegraph, told 2GB listeners yesterday he was "disappointed" to hear of the comments, given his support for the Attorney-General.
"Apparently and allegedly -- and this has been confirmed by three sources, including people who took a transcript of Mr Smith's off-the-cuff speech -- he spoke at length about the 'rednecks' who listen to my program . . . you, his constituents," Hadley said. "And he spoke in detail about the bigoted fools who read The Daily Telegraph. He spoke about my support of a public servant whom he didn't name and my continued support of this public servant, a public servant he wants to get rid of, apparently, but whom the Premier has expressed a desire to keep."
During a seven-minute conversation that dropped out twice, Hadley and Mr Smith then argued about what was said and whether the Attorney-General supports NSW prisons boss Ron Woodham.
Hadley accused Mr Smith of "going back to your Labor Party ways" -- a reference to his membership of the party nearly 20 years ago.
Several times Mr Smith denied the remarks, but he admitted using the term "rednecks" when discussing people who "supported a culture in NSW prisons that existed in the past".
"I have been taken out of context," he said.
"Clearly I have some people in the Liberal Party who will do anything to poison you or poison you towards me."
The slanging match ended when Mr Smith's line dropped out for a second time.
Yesterday, the Attorney-General released a statement, in which he declared: "I did not disparage readers of The Daily Telegraph in any way.
"In fact, I said that while they normally take an aggressive line on law and order, the Telegraph and radio stations 2GB and 2UE had been prepared to give the government a fair go as we argue success on law and order should not be judged alone in terms of how tough sentences are or how many people are locked up."
Hadley could not be contacted yesterday.
Listen to the interview here
and some more Hadley ranting on Smith the next day
Attorney-General Greg Smith stung by Ray Hadley
Andrew Clennell | The Daily Telegraph | 22 November 2011
War of words ... Attorney-General Greg Smith and Ray Hadley. Source: The Daily Telegraph
UPDATE 11.59am THE head of the prison officers' union has joined an attack by broadcaster Ray Hadley on Attorney-General Greg Smith, saying Mr Smith's comments about the culture in the prison system are "absolutely disgusting".
Mr Hadley said on air today that Mr Smith had lied on his show yesterday over claims a prisoner had been punched and kicked.
Mr Smith had been defending himself yesterday against claims he denied that he had called Mr Hadley's listeners "rednecks" and The Daily Telegraph's readers "bigoted fools" during comments at a Liberal Party function.
Mr Smith had said he had referred to rednecks but: "I don't want to see people treated like dogs, whatever their status in life. You see a man being marched across a room like a dog recently on television and kicked into a prison cell, that man died two days later, there's an inquest on at the moment .. that's what I was talking on the other night."
Mr Hadley said today film footage of the incident concerned had shown a prisoner being "gently" placed in a cell, not kicked.
On Mr Hadley's program, Matt Bindley, the chairman of the Prison Officers Vocational Branch, said he and his members resented comments by Mr Smith that prison officers treated prisoners under the current culture as "like dogs".
"To be told we treat people like dogs ... is absolutely disgusting and we won't tolerate it," Mr Bindley said.
Hadley countered:"`I think he wants [prisons] to be some sort of retirement resort ... where they're [prisoners] going to be namby pambied."
In a fiery on-air exchange yesterday, Mr Smith denied he made the disparaging comments at the Pennant Hills Liberal Christmas party on Saturday night - despite Hadley saying he had three sources backing up the claims.
Hadley had accused Mr Smith of trying to go soft on "murderers and rapists" and seeking to get rid of prisons boss Ron Woodham.
One version of Saturday's function, from solicitor Mark Turnbull, was that Mr Smith referred to "certain redneck radio commentators" who wanted him to go harder on justice policy.
Mr Smith admitted he wanted less prisoners in jail and said he wanted to change a culture where prisoners were being bashed but he claimed Hadley had been misled.
"Clearly I have some people in the Liberal Party who will do anything to poison you towards me," Mr Smith said. Hadley then asked Mr Smith if he had called his listeners rednecks.
"I did not Ray. I talked about rednecks who supported a culture of ... NSW prisons in the past and it was in the context of me saying how upset I was at the treatment of two men who recently died," he said.
Hadley said: "You better be careful because I've spoken to three people ... who say that you called my listeners rednecks and you referred to readers of The Daily Telegraph as bigoted fools."
Mr Smith said: "I might have used the word redneck but it wasn't in specific regard to 2GB."
Berowra MP Philip Ruddock, one of those at the party, would not comment yesterday other than to say he did not recall comments "of that sort".
Mr Smith said last night: "I did not disparage readers of The Daily Telegraph in any way."
War of words ... Attorney-General Greg Smith and Ray Hadley. Source: The Daily Telegraph
UPDATE 11.59am THE head of the prison officers' union has joined an attack by broadcaster Ray Hadley on Attorney-General Greg Smith, saying Mr Smith's comments about the culture in the prison system are "absolutely disgusting".
Mr Hadley said on air today that Mr Smith had lied on his show yesterday over claims a prisoner had been punched and kicked.
Mr Smith had been defending himself yesterday against claims he denied that he had called Mr Hadley's listeners "rednecks" and The Daily Telegraph's readers "bigoted fools" during comments at a Liberal Party function.
Mr Smith had said he had referred to rednecks but: "I don't want to see people treated like dogs, whatever their status in life. You see a man being marched across a room like a dog recently on television and kicked into a prison cell, that man died two days later, there's an inquest on at the moment .. that's what I was talking on the other night."
Mr Hadley said today film footage of the incident concerned had shown a prisoner being "gently" placed in a cell, not kicked.
On Mr Hadley's program, Matt Bindley, the chairman of the Prison Officers Vocational Branch, said he and his members resented comments by Mr Smith that prison officers treated prisoners under the current culture as "like dogs".
"To be told we treat people like dogs ... is absolutely disgusting and we won't tolerate it," Mr Bindley said.
Hadley countered:"`I think he wants [prisons] to be some sort of retirement resort ... where they're [prisoners] going to be namby pambied."
In a fiery on-air exchange yesterday, Mr Smith denied he made the disparaging comments at the Pennant Hills Liberal Christmas party on Saturday night - despite Hadley saying he had three sources backing up the claims.
Hadley had accused Mr Smith of trying to go soft on "murderers and rapists" and seeking to get rid of prisons boss Ron Woodham.
One version of Saturday's function, from solicitor Mark Turnbull, was that Mr Smith referred to "certain redneck radio commentators" who wanted him to go harder on justice policy.
Mr Smith admitted he wanted less prisoners in jail and said he wanted to change a culture where prisoners were being bashed but he claimed Hadley had been misled.
"Clearly I have some people in the Liberal Party who will do anything to poison you towards me," Mr Smith said. Hadley then asked Mr Smith if he had called his listeners rednecks.
"I did not Ray. I talked about rednecks who supported a culture of ... NSW prisons in the past and it was in the context of me saying how upset I was at the treatment of two men who recently died," he said.
Hadley said: "You better be careful because I've spoken to three people ... who say that you called my listeners rednecks and you referred to readers of The Daily Telegraph as bigoted fools."
Mr Smith said: "I might have used the word redneck but it wasn't in specific regard to 2GB."
Berowra MP Philip Ruddock, one of those at the party, would not comment yesterday other than to say he did not recall comments "of that sort".
Mr Smith said last night: "I did not disparage readers of The Daily Telegraph in any way."
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
AG at Estimates: Mental Health in custody
General Purpose Standing Committee No 4 | Attorney General and Justice | 26 October 2011
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: Attorney, in the 2011-12 budget do you know the amount allocated to mental health care services for people in New South Wales correctional centres?
Mr GREG SMITH: No, I do not.
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: Does either Mr Glanville or Mr Woodham know the amount allocated?
Mr WOODHAM: I cannot tell you the exact dollar figure, but I can relate to the programs that we have, which are very expensive and very intense.
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: Could you give the dollar figure on notice?
Mr WOODHAM: Yes, I can give you that.
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: Could you include whether any recurrent funding has been allocated for that purpose?
Mr WOODHAM: It is there every year, because large sections of our remand jails are involved with mental health.
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: Mr Hubby, could I ask you to provide the same figures and details in relation to young people in Juvenile Justice centres?
Mr HUBBY: I will. I would note though that health services in Juvenile Justice centres are generally provided by NSW Health. So some costs are incurred directly by our agency, but some are incurred by NSW Health.
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: Could you give the NSW Health figures to the extent they are available to you?
Mr HUBBY: I will take that on notice.
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: Mr Woodham, could you give the same figures for the amount allocated for mental health care services for people in privatised correctional centres in New South Wales, and include the recurrent figures?
Mr WOODHAM: Yes.
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: So that is a separate figure for the privatised centres.
Mr WOODHAM: What the whole facility costs?
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: No. The amount allocated to mental health services.
Mr WOODHAM: Our main programs are not there.
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: Which is why I am asking can you give the amount allocated in those privatised centres, including by centre, so Parklea and Junee.
Mr WOODHAM: Yes.
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: Attorney, in the 2011-12 budget do you know the amount allocated to mental health care services for people in New South Wales correctional centres?
Mr GREG SMITH: No, I do not.
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: Does either Mr Glanville or Mr Woodham know the amount allocated?
Mr WOODHAM: I cannot tell you the exact dollar figure, but I can relate to the programs that we have, which are very expensive and very intense.
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: Could you give the dollar figure on notice?
Mr WOODHAM: Yes, I can give you that.
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: Could you include whether any recurrent funding has been allocated for that purpose?
Mr WOODHAM: It is there every year, because large sections of our remand jails are involved with mental health.
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: Mr Hubby, could I ask you to provide the same figures and details in relation to young people in Juvenile Justice centres?
Mr HUBBY: I will. I would note though that health services in Juvenile Justice centres are generally provided by NSW Health. So some costs are incurred directly by our agency, but some are incurred by NSW Health.
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: Could you give the NSW Health figures to the extent they are available to you?
Mr HUBBY: I will take that on notice.
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: Mr Woodham, could you give the same figures for the amount allocated for mental health care services for people in privatised correctional centres in New South Wales, and include the recurrent figures?
Mr WOODHAM: Yes.
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: So that is a separate figure for the privatised centres.
Mr WOODHAM: What the whole facility costs?
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: No. The amount allocated to mental health services.
Mr WOODHAM: Our main programs are not there.
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: Which is why I am asking can you give the amount allocated in those privatised centres, including by centre, so Parklea and Junee.
Mr WOODHAM: Yes.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Jails boss keeps job for just six months
Sean Nicholls | SMH | October 19, 2011
SPECULATION is mounting about the future of the veteran NSW prisons boss, Ron Woodham, after his contract was renewed for just six months.
Mr Woodham has been in negotiations with the NSW Attorney-General, Greg Smith, about the renewal of his contract, which was due to expire on October 22.
Yesterday, the government confirmed an agreement had been reached to extend Mr Woodham's term but only until April 30 next year.
The decision comes as Mr Smith has argued the need for cultural change within the NSW prisons system.
Discussing prison reform shortly after the change of government in April, Mr Smith told the ABC: ''I don't expect that Mr Woodham wants to retire or will retire at this stage. We'll see how we can work together.''
Mr Smith said he was ''putting a lot of reforms up that seem to go against the culture that's existed in recent years''.
On Friday, Mr Smith told Parliament the previous government ''let the commissioner run the place''.
''I am not saying that he ran it badly but nevertheless ministers did not take responsibility for the organisation.
''As a result, from time to time we have security problems. There were a lot more escapes in the 12 months prior to our coming to government than there were before.''
The announcement of the contract extension follows confirmation in the state budget that the government would close prisons at Parramatta, Berrima and Kirkconnell.
Mr Woodham said in a statement: ''My priority at this stage is managing the downsizing of the organisation and the relocation of 600 staff across the state as a result of the three jail closures announced in September.''
Mr Woodham joined the corrective services department in 1965 and is the only prison officer to have made it to the top.
SPECULATION is mounting about the future of the veteran NSW prisons boss, Ron Woodham, after his contract was renewed for just six months.
Mr Woodham has been in negotiations with the NSW Attorney-General, Greg Smith, about the renewal of his contract, which was due to expire on October 22.
Yesterday, the government confirmed an agreement had been reached to extend Mr Woodham's term but only until April 30 next year.
The decision comes as Mr Smith has argued the need for cultural change within the NSW prisons system.
Discussing prison reform shortly after the change of government in April, Mr Smith told the ABC: ''I don't expect that Mr Woodham wants to retire or will retire at this stage. We'll see how we can work together.''
Mr Smith said he was ''putting a lot of reforms up that seem to go against the culture that's existed in recent years''.
On Friday, Mr Smith told Parliament the previous government ''let the commissioner run the place''.
''I am not saying that he ran it badly but nevertheless ministers did not take responsibility for the organisation.
''As a result, from time to time we have security problems. There were a lot more escapes in the 12 months prior to our coming to government than there were before.''
The announcement of the contract extension follows confirmation in the state budget that the government would close prisons at Parramatta, Berrima and Kirkconnell.
Mr Woodham said in a statement: ''My priority at this stage is managing the downsizing of the organisation and the relocation of 600 staff across the state as a result of the three jail closures announced in September.''
Mr Woodham joined the corrective services department in 1965 and is the only prison officer to have made it to the top.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Short-term contract has NSW prisons boss on outer
Mark Tobin | ABC Online | 18 October 2011
The New South Wales prison chief's days appear to be numbered, after he was only offered a short-term contract extension.
Ron Woodham has been Corrective Services Commissioner since 2002 and his current contract expires this month, but the Attorney-General has only given him a six-month extension.
His reign has often been controversial.
Mr Woodham was heavily criticised by the prison guard's union for attempting to privatise jails and change longstanding work practices, with members calling for his sacking at a 2009 rally.
Attorney-General Greg Smith has issued a statement to the ABC saying Mr Woodham's contract has been extended until the end of April next year.
Mr Smith hinted at a shake-up for the state's prison system last week, saying he wanted to change the culture.
"I'm looking at ways of trying to generate more respect and decency towards prisoners," Mr Smith said.
Mr Woodham has issued a statement confirming he has accepted the extension.
"My priority at this stage is managing the downsizing of the organisation and the relocation of 600 staff across the state as a result of the three jail closures announced in September," he said.
The closures of the prisons at Parramatta, Berrima and Kirkconnell were confirmed in Treasurer Mike Baird's first state budget.
The New South Wales prison chief's days appear to be numbered, after he was only offered a short-term contract extension.
Ron Woodham has been Corrective Services Commissioner since 2002 and his current contract expires this month, but the Attorney-General has only given him a six-month extension.
His reign has often been controversial.
Mr Woodham was heavily criticised by the prison guard's union for attempting to privatise jails and change longstanding work practices, with members calling for his sacking at a 2009 rally.
Attorney-General Greg Smith has issued a statement to the ABC saying Mr Woodham's contract has been extended until the end of April next year.
Mr Smith hinted at a shake-up for the state's prison system last week, saying he wanted to change the culture.
"I'm looking at ways of trying to generate more respect and decency towards prisoners," Mr Smith said.
Mr Woodham has issued a statement confirming he has accepted the extension.
"My priority at this stage is managing the downsizing of the organisation and the relocation of 600 staff across the state as a result of the three jail closures announced in September," he said.
The closures of the prisons at Parramatta, Berrima and Kirkconnell were confirmed in Treasurer Mike Baird's first state budget.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
A way to get out of three jails
Anna Patty | SMH | 7 September 2011
A RECORD drop in the prison population has allowed the government to close Parramatta, Berrima and Kirkconnell prisons, cutting 350 jobs by the end of the year.
The Corrective Services Commissioner, Ron Woodham, said there were 11,224 prison beds at the end of last month, but just 9847 inmates, down from 10,400 in June last year.
Mr Woodham said 600 to 650 beds would be cut as part of savings, which would need to be found across the organisation. He said voluntary redundancy packages, redeployment and retraining had been offered to staff and ''every attempt is being made to backfill positions''.
The Attorney-General, Greg Smith, said a disused section of Parklea Correctional Centre would be reopened to provide 80 beds for relocated inmates. He said the government was also investing $46 million in programs to reduce reoffending and $78 million to build new courts.
The shadow attorney-general, Paul Lynch, said the job cuts would have an adverse affect on local communities. He said there had been no dramatic changes in sentencing patterns which would justify reducing prison capacity.
''The closures are likely to make the corrective services system harder to manage,'' he said.
Greens MP David Shoebridge said the prison population in NSW was 11,000 according to a report from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of NSW that was released last month.
''While the government has stated that it will close three prisons, it has also indicated that it will move to privatise the remaining prison facilities in NSW,'' he said. ''When this government says it is examining 'the potential for greater contestability' in the delivery of corrective services, there should be no doubt in anyone's mind what he meant. This means privatisation.''
A RECORD drop in the prison population has allowed the government to close Parramatta, Berrima and Kirkconnell prisons, cutting 350 jobs by the end of the year.
The Corrective Services Commissioner, Ron Woodham, said there were 11,224 prison beds at the end of last month, but just 9847 inmates, down from 10,400 in June last year.
Mr Woodham said 600 to 650 beds would be cut as part of savings, which would need to be found across the organisation. He said voluntary redundancy packages, redeployment and retraining had been offered to staff and ''every attempt is being made to backfill positions''.
The Attorney-General, Greg Smith, said a disused section of Parklea Correctional Centre would be reopened to provide 80 beds for relocated inmates. He said the government was also investing $46 million in programs to reduce reoffending and $78 million to build new courts.
The shadow attorney-general, Paul Lynch, said the job cuts would have an adverse affect on local communities. He said there had been no dramatic changes in sentencing patterns which would justify reducing prison capacity.
''The closures are likely to make the corrective services system harder to manage,'' he said.
Greens MP David Shoebridge said the prison population in NSW was 11,000 according to a report from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of NSW that was released last month.
''While the government has stated that it will close three prisons, it has also indicated that it will move to privatise the remaining prison facilities in NSW,'' he said. ''When this government says it is examining 'the potential for greater contestability' in the delivery of corrective services, there should be no doubt in anyone's mind what he meant. This means privatisation.''
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Modern prescription for mental illness: go directly to jail
Richard Ackland | SMH | July 29, 2011
"Most are ill people locked in a system that can't provide proper treatment."
A comfortably-off, middle-class woman from a nice suburb suddenly finds herself at the Silverwater metropolitan remand and reception centre. She's been charged with a serious driving offence and is awaiting trial.
The reception centre is a madhouse. It's so crowded people are swinging off the rafters. There are three or four people to a small cell. Our middle-class inmate shares with two others.
There's an Aboriginal woman clearly suffering a dreadful mental trauma, who spends the entire night screaming and bashing her head against the wall. There is blood everywhere.
The lady on the driving charge repeatedly calls the guard for something to be done, only to be told when someone in authority finally gets around to sticking their head in (twice in 12 hours), ''don't worry about it''.
The guards would have seen this sort of scene innumerable times. Someone might die, but the resources can't cope and the system is choked with mentally ill prisoners.
A group of us who attended the most recent forum of the Crime and Justice Reform Committee heard this story from Kat Armstrong, an articulate former prisoner who nowadays works for the Women in Prison Advocacy Network.
Former District Court judge Chris Geraghty, who chaired the lunchtime session of the CJRC, said he quite frequently had to sentence mentally damaged people to jail who said their heads were filled with voices. Sending these people to prison is unlikely to improve their capacity to function. It also compounds the difficulties of daily life for other prisoners and prison officers.
"Most are ill people locked in a system that can't provide proper treatment."
A comfortably-off, middle-class woman from a nice suburb suddenly finds herself at the Silverwater metropolitan remand and reception centre. She's been charged with a serious driving offence and is awaiting trial.
The reception centre is a madhouse. It's so crowded people are swinging off the rafters. There are three or four people to a small cell. Our middle-class inmate shares with two others.
There's an Aboriginal woman clearly suffering a dreadful mental trauma, who spends the entire night screaming and bashing her head against the wall. There is blood everywhere.
The lady on the driving charge repeatedly calls the guard for something to be done, only to be told when someone in authority finally gets around to sticking their head in (twice in 12 hours), ''don't worry about it''.
The guards would have seen this sort of scene innumerable times. Someone might die, but the resources can't cope and the system is choked with mentally ill prisoners.
A group of us who attended the most recent forum of the Crime and Justice Reform Committee heard this story from Kat Armstrong, an articulate former prisoner who nowadays works for the Women in Prison Advocacy Network.
Former District Court judge Chris Geraghty, who chaired the lunchtime session of the CJRC, said he quite frequently had to sentence mentally damaged people to jail who said their heads were filled with voices. Sending these people to prison is unlikely to improve their capacity to function. It also compounds the difficulties of daily life for other prisoners and prison officers.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Officers indifferent to prisoners' well-being, inquest hears
Malcolm Brown | SMH | July 28 2011
Two prison officers who were escorts to a group of prisoners when one of the prisoners died of a heart attack received withering criticism from counsel in the Coroner's Court in Glebe today.
Ragni Mathur, representing the family of the deceased prisoner, Mark Holcroft, said the officers, Peter Sheppard and Clive Bateman, had demonstrated an "indifference" to the welfare of the prisoners they were escorting.
The trip, on August 27, 2009, was from Bathurst jail to Mannus Correctional Centre near Tumbarumba in southern New South Wales. It lasted four and half hours and, according to evidence before Deputy State Coroner Paul MacMahon, the prisoners were not given water or allowed a toilet stop.
Mr Holcroft, 59, who was starting a seven-month sentence for a drink-driver offence, suffered a heart attack towards the end of the trip.
Despite screaming and thumping on the sides of the van by the seven other prisoners in Mr Holcroft's compartment - a commotion lasting about 40 minutes and still continuing when the truck arrived at Mannus - officers Sheppard and Bateman did not stop.
Officer Sheppard, who was monitoring a video camera surveying the compartment where Mr Holcroft was being transported, has told the inquest that he did not see anything unusual. Both officers have said that they heard the thumping and thought the prisoners were just acting up. They could not find the handset for the two-way intercom system and had no way of communicating with the prisoners.
Two prison officers who were escorts to a group of prisoners when one of the prisoners died of a heart attack received withering criticism from counsel in the Coroner's Court in Glebe today.
Ragni Mathur, representing the family of the deceased prisoner, Mark Holcroft, said the officers, Peter Sheppard and Clive Bateman, had demonstrated an "indifference" to the welfare of the prisoners they were escorting.
The trip, on August 27, 2009, was from Bathurst jail to Mannus Correctional Centre near Tumbarumba in southern New South Wales. It lasted four and half hours and, according to evidence before Deputy State Coroner Paul MacMahon, the prisoners were not given water or allowed a toilet stop.
Mr Holcroft, 59, who was starting a seven-month sentence for a drink-driver offence, suffered a heart attack towards the end of the trip.
Despite screaming and thumping on the sides of the van by the seven other prisoners in Mr Holcroft's compartment - a commotion lasting about 40 minutes and still continuing when the truck arrived at Mannus - officers Sheppard and Bateman did not stop.
Officer Sheppard, who was monitoring a video camera surveying the compartment where Mr Holcroft was being transported, has told the inquest that he did not see anything unusual. Both officers have said that they heard the thumping and thought the prisoners were just acting up. They could not find the handset for the two-way intercom system and had no way of communicating with the prisoners.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Review to target Aboriginal jobless programs
Anna Patty | SMH | 25 June 2011
''We need to be investing more in education and employment services so that we are spending less on public order"
THE steep reversal of a downward trend in Aboriginal unemployment in NSW in recent years has forced the state government to order an overhaul of employment programs that are failing.
The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Victor Dominello, has asked his department to review 10 employment programs, including Aboriginal Jobs Together, which the Auditor General strongly criticised last month.
The department has been asked to cost the programs and assess the number of job placements, traineeships and cadetships they produced. Retention rates and evidence suggesting the programs would prove to be successful would also be reviewed.
''These are programs designed to get Aboriginal people into employment. I want to know if they are working,'' he said.
Mr Dominello said the state government was spending an average of $78 on labour and employment services for each Aboriginal person, $104 on social security and $3817 on public order and safety. He said a greater investment was needed in education and employment initiatives to reduce the rate of entry into correctional facilities.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Why are deaths in custody rising?
Inga Ting | Crikey | 15 April 2011
Twenty years today after the Royal Commission report into Aboriginal deaths in custody was released, fatalities in prison custody are rising and inmates are still dying as a result of the same lethal practices the Commission sought to eliminate.
According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, which is responsible for compiling national statistics on deaths in custody, the number of prison deaths since 2006 has risen nationwide, despite the size of the Australian prison population remaining fairly stable. In the decade to 2008 — the last year for which verifiable figures are available — 471 people died in Australian prison custody, an increase of nearly 50% from the decade to 1989, when the Royal Commission was conducting its investigations.
The AIC has not yet released statistics for 2009 and 2010. But figures obtained by Crikey — a spreadsheet can be downloaded here (4.4MB) — reveal deaths in prison custody have increased by about 50% in the past decade in both NSW and Queensland, the two states with the worst records in the country. NSW — which accounts for more than one third of the 1260 prison deaths recorded between 1980 and 2008 — recorded 161 prison custody deaths in the decade to 2009, compared to 106 during the time of the Royal Commission. Ninety-two people have died in Queensland prison custody in the decade to 2009, compared to 64 during the time of the Commission.
While figures for 2009 could only be obtained for half of all Australian jurisdictions, data provided by state and territory coroners indicates more than 438 prisoners died in Australian jails in the decade to 2009, compared to 323 in the decade to 1989. Twenty-six prison deaths were reported to coroners in NSW, Queensland, Tasmania and the ACT in 2009 — 12 in NSW, 12 in Queensland, one in Tasmania and one in the ACT. The Northern Territory, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia refused to supply figures to Crikey.
Fremantle-based PhD law researcher and convenor of the Human Rights Alliance, Gerry Georgatos, says Australia has one of the world’s worst deaths in custody records and a Senate inquiry is urgently needed. Georgatos has been independently monitoring Australian deaths in custody through information published on Corrective Services websites, media reports and other sources.
“During the last two years there have been an additional 160 deaths in custody Australia-wide. The annual average of deaths in custody in 1991 was 71; it is now 78, with the last verifiable year, 2008, recording 86 deaths,” he said, adding that 63% of deaths in custody occur in prisons.
“From February 20 to April 4, 2010 there were six prison deaths in Queensland, WA and NSW jails, plus a seventh death in NSW of an 18-year-old escapee shot to death — this high rate is left unexplored.”
The rate of death in privatised prisons is far higher than in state prisons, which Georgatos cites as a serious concern given the drive towards privatisation in NSW and other states. “People die in privatised prisons at three times the rate they die in government prisons: 4.5 deaths per 1000 prisoners in privatised prisons in Australia, compared to 1.3 in government prisons,” he said.
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