8/3/2023 0 Comments Lack of oversight“This is the second report by an independent body in less than a month that has highlighted dangerous practices in Victoria’s prisons, including a failure to uphold the rights of people with a disability. Implement proper oversight of conditions and treatment in detention, by realising the vision of the UN’s anti-torture protocol - OPCAT - to ensure regular and independent oversight of Victoria’s prisons.Īndreea Lachsz, Head of Policy, Communications and Strategy, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, said: Take steps to prevent mistreatment in prisons, including banning the use of harmful, unnecessary and degrading practices like routine strip searching and solitary confinement. Reform of disciplinary processes to make them fairer, including that people must get a fair hearing in front of an independent hearing officer, written reasons must be given and easily accessible review mechanisms must be put in place. These reports highlight the pressing need for the Andrews government to: This report comes just weeks after Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog - the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission – released its Special report on corrections which uncovered serious and systemic wrongdoing in Victoria’s private and public prisons. Particularly concerning are the Ombudsman’s findings that people in prison with a cognitive disability or mental illness are over-represented in disciplinary processes, that their condition was not consistently considered and that insufficient support was provided. The Victorian Ombudsman’s Investigation into good practice when conducting prison disciplinary hearings found that disciplinary hearings in Victorian prisons are still carried out ‘in the dark’ with insufficient scrutiny, oversight or transparency. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, legal, human rights and civil liberties organisations have called on the Andrews government to take urgent steps to increase transparency and prevent mistreatment behind bars after a new report has highlighted serious deficiencies in disciplinary processes in Victorian prisons.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |