Brush Farm Corrective Services Academy
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Investigation into inmate discipline in NSW correctional centres: a special report under section 31 of the Ombudsman Act
No full textThis is a report of the NSW Ombudsman’s own motion investigation into the administration of the NSW inmate disciplinary system. The NSW Ombudsman regularly deals with complaints from inmates about the process and decisions made in relation to correctional centre offences. In some complaints received in recent years, our inquiries led us to conclude that findings of guilt may have been unfair, or even unlawful, and we formally suggested that CSNSW conduct a review. In each case, following review, the findings were overturned. From 2018 we also began to receive complaints about a new inmate disciplinary policy (the Policy). The new Policy provided for all functions in relation to inmate discipline to be delegated to certain officers within centres. Prior to this Policy being adopted, all determinations of disciplinary matters (findings of guilt) and penalties were made by the centre governor personally, following recommendations made by delegates (who only made preliminary decisions, for example as to the charges to be laid). More recently (and after we commenced the current investigation) we have also conducted a number of specific investigations into complaints made to us by inmates about particular inmate discipline proceedings. The inmate disciplinary system deals with inmates who, while in a correctional centre, are alleged to have committed a ‘correctional centre offence’. These offences are prescribed in the regulations, and there are 71 of them. They include assaults, drug offences, theft and other property offences, as well as various discipline and good order offences, such as ‘fight’, ‘disobey direction’, ‘fail to clean yards’, ‘enter other cells’ and so on. The Ombudsman has made several recommendations. In accordance with section 26(5) of the Ombudsman Act, the Ombudsman has requested that CSNSW provide its final response to the recommendations made in the final report within 2 months and that it advise his office every 3 months on its progress in implementing those recommendations until such date as all accepted recommendations have been implemented
