Australia must raise the standard of prisoner rights

In Australian prisons, the high mortality rate is worrying – as shown by more progressive countries, it does not have to be. Gerry Georgatos reports.

Australia will claim that the prison population has the rights for longer? As Social Justice Academician and former PhD Law Researcher deaths in custody and prison reformTo date, I claim that it has not changed anywhere close enough.

Since the painting The Royal Commission’s Deaths in custody In 1992, it was not enough to reduce or end unnatural deaths under prison custody.

High Mortality Rates in Australian prisons

Thirty years later 100 At least in Australian prisons, deaths at least 20 Deaths in the custody of the first nations prison.

Although the mortality rates seem higher for the Australians who have no legacy of the first nations, we see that the first nations die at a much higher rate when we distinguish unnatural death rates and natural mortality rates. unnatural Reasons. We see that they died even higher with suicide, decomposing more.

The first nations in prisons to die Much younger and average and median age of death, more than ten years than the rest of those imprisoned.

If you died in a 19 -year -old Australian prison, you were probably a black youth -More than 90% of the prison deaths of that age consist of 19 years old. These are young people born in an overwhelming injustice and disadvantage from the beginning of life. If you died in a 20 -year -old Australian prison, you were probably a black teenager – 85% of the deaths in this age group Black.

Nobody should die in the prison of unnatural deaths, but they do it and scary ratios. The terrible death rates of both the first nations and non -indigenous prisoners are less known. In the first year for the first nations, the mortality rate is at least four times higher than that of non -indigenous prisoners. Almost all deaths in the first year after its release are unnatural deaths.

Here is my long -standing pioneer separation In general, the prison emerges in worse states before being imprisoned.

Tragically, mortality rates After the detention, the first year is about ten times more for the first peoples. In this first year, suicide is the leading cause of death and suicides are increasing.

Lack of legal protection for prisoners

There will be many people who claim that they have prisoners in Australia, but they are not involved in a single constitution. document As in other countries. Instead, prisoners are controversial with a combination of legal law, common law and international obligations.

1. Under Human Rights (Parliamentary Investigation) 2011 LawFederal laws should be evaluated in terms of compliance with human rights; International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
2. Every Australian province and its region have its own Correction LawStandards set standards for the treatment of prisoners. These include access to health services, visits and correspondence, religious and cultural practices and inhuman protection
3. The laws of the fight against discrimination are valid, especially in prisons. First nations Prisoners and disabled prisoners.

I call these paper-thin rights BS. They barely exist and they are regularly suspended where they can exist. Only imprisonment, uncertain limits, three -point chain, rolling rolling LockingExcessive crowded cells, mixer, grotesque cells, non -standard health care and highly unnatural mortality rates meet the lack of unchanging rights and guards.

Countries with stronger prisoners and positive results

Prisons are the only place where zero Medicare is located in Australia and therefore health services bottomless. Prisoners have no rights, no access to external notification services. The lives of the prisoners do not matter. The prisons in Australia are completely mutual unlike Scandinavian and Dutch countries, where prisons reform to become life-religious, really rehabilitated, expert therapeutic, restorative and educational.

Norway

Rehabilitation means that the punishment is restricted by freedom and nothing else:

• Open prisons (such as Bastøy Island) normal Living conditions, education, business education and autonomy;
• again ratio 20 % less (less ( lowest In the world);
• normalized environments that reduce trauma;
• Focusing on skills and therapy prepares prisoners for authentic re -integration; And
• The guards are more like social workers.

Germany

Prisoner reputation that protected under Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germanyto contain:

• emphasize revitalization;
• Approximately 35% (lower than many Western countries) Re -accusation rate;
• Family visits, personal privacy;
• Prisoners can wear their own clothes And cook your own meals; And
• comprehensive professional and educational programs; compulsory education For illiterate.

Holland

Progressive policies such as using alternative penalty (eg community service) gave positive results including the following:

• focusing on mental health and expert addiction treatments;
• Closed prisons, 23 prisons closed due to the decrease in prisons; And
• The fall of the population of the prison and the prison.

Examples of working reforms:

Norway: “Nationality Principle”

• Prison life should look like External life as much as possible;
• The guards receive three years of education with focusing on conflict solution; And
• Prisoners have freedom of movement, cooking for themselves and attending classes.

Finland: “Decarceration Strategy”

• Since the 1970s, the prison has reduced its population by 60%;
• Early release, supervised freedom and society based sanctions; And
• Crimes like little theft and medicine Use usually results in unconscious sentences.

Germany: Prisoner Work and Education

• Most prisoners work (eg carpentry, printing), by gaining humble fee;
• Funds used for return, savings and basic needs; And
• compulsory education For illiterate or less uneducated prisoners.

Netherlands: Therapeutic Justice

• Drug criminals, mental illness and youth;
• The courts work not only with the police but also with social services; And
• rehabilitation Plans replace the standard penalty for appropriate situations.

Legislation needs to protect prisoners

The prisoner must have rights law And until then, we are not only a laggard, but also a distinctive discriminatory nation. The only suggestions not accepted by the Australian Senate from 339 proposals The Royal Commission’s Deaths in custody dead Recommendation 329.

Recommendation 329 He calls for the National Standards Organ to prepare and promote the legislation that embodies the standard directives and include prisoner rights. Not approved by Northern region And therefore the Australian Senate did not approve Recommendation 329.

There Recommendation 329 approved, guaranteed legislation The prisoner could have provided rights Was the equivalent of all Australians and prisoners, well -resident and therefore preserved in humanitarian and safer custody Settings. Recommendation 329 It was one of the few suggestions that clearly required workmanship Legislation – Universal rights for prisoners who are not suspended while imprisoned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pft-ts0g4va

Gerry Georgatos is an experimental focus on social justice and suicide prevention and poverty researcher.

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