[Greens-Media] Covert survey: Goulburn Jail breaches UN standards

[Hans VanLeeuwen]

Covert survey: Goulburn Jail breaches UN standards
Media release - December 9, 2004

Greens MP Lee Rhiannon has called on Justice Minister John Hatzistergos
to bring Goulburn Jail's Maximum Security Wing into line with United
Nations standards, after a prison inmate's covert survey of his fellow
inmates revealed problems with rehabilitation programs and basic
amenities.
 
"Goulburn Jail inmate Christopher Binse secretly issued a questionnaire
to more than 140 of his fellow inmates in C-Wing, and the results paint
a disturbing picture," said Ms Rhiannon.
 
"The survey showed that although most inmates were very keen to
undertake rehabilitation and education programs, they were
overwhelmingly not getting the services they needed.
 
"Prisoners are punished by long-term deprivation of liberty. The role of
the prison is not to inflict boot-camp hardship on prisoners, but to
ensure they don't reoffend when released.
 
"Rehabilitation is crucial to breaking the cycle of criminality. Yet the
prisoners' own testimony reveals that not enough is being done to ensure
they can integrate back into society.
 
"The survey also found that the clothes provided to prisoners were
inadequate in the harsh Goulburn winter, causing many inmates to fall
ill.
 
"This is not a luxury, it's a question of basic standards. If minimum
standards are not met, the jail runs the risk of simply hardening
criminals, rather than solving any behavioural and social problems they
have which may cause recidivism.
 
"The inadequate rehabilitation programs and clothing breach the UN
standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners. So too does the
ethnic segregation practised at the jail.
 
"I congratulate Mr Binse on his survey, and on his ability to overcome
conditions at Goulburn and seek to break his own cycle of criminality. I
hope his efforts to quantify conditions at Goulburn Jail are heeded by
the Justice Minister," Ms Rhiannon said.

Also available: Details on the survey, the UN rules, a copy of Lee's
speech to Parliament.

 
Hans van Leeuwen
Media Adviser, Greens MLC Lee Rhiannon
Tel: (61 2) 9230 3551
Fax: (61 2) 9230 3550
Mob: 0425 310 562
hans.vanleeuwen at parliament.nsw.gov.au