Human Rights and Prisons - Rethinking Crime and Punishment
Human Rights and Prisons - Rethinking Crime and Punishment
Human Rights and Prisons - Rethinking Crime and Punishment
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Issues<br />
The Ombudsmen‟s Office (2005:31) noted that some prisoners complained<br />
that „general punishment had been imposed upon their entire unit as a result<br />
of the actions of one/few fellow prisoners‟. Further, this report highlighted that<br />
some prisoners were not told that they have been placed on Incident Report<br />
(<strong>and</strong> only found out that this was the case when they arrived at Parole Board).<br />
In the year to the end of June 2009, the Ombudsmen‟s Office received 337<br />
complaints about prisoner discipline <strong>and</strong> misconduct. Many of the formal<br />
complaints, received by the Inspectors of Corrections in 2008/2009, also<br />
related to the timeliness of disciplinary charges. Further research in this area<br />
would be useful.<br />
9.4 Complaints <strong>and</strong> Inspection Procedures<br />
Law <strong>and</strong> policy framework<br />
Prisoners wanting to make complaints are to be given the opportunity to<br />
obtain assistance, verify information <strong>and</strong>, if they have difficulties with verbal or<br />
written communication, assistance to prepare or present their case<br />
(Corrections Act:s154). System objectives also include: ensuring that all<br />
reasonable steps are taken to investigate complaints; ensuring that<br />
complaints are, to the extent possible, investigated in a culturally sensitive<br />
manner; disclosing identities of complainants only to the extent necessary to<br />
assist in the investigation of complaints; <strong>and</strong> monitoring <strong>and</strong> auditing of<br />
complaints to ensure effectiveness of the system. The Corrections Act (subpart<br />
6) <strong>and</strong> Section PC.01 of the Prison Service Operations Manual provide<br />
further information on complaints, investigations, <strong>and</strong> inspections.<br />
Internal Complaints System<br />
The internal complaints system aims to ensure that prisoner complaints are<br />
dealt with at the lowest <strong>and</strong> most informal level (Corrections Act:s152).<br />
Investigations on complaints can be refused if the prison manager views that<br />
the complaint is frivolous or vexatious (r163).<br />
There have been concerns about the under-utilisation <strong>and</strong> ad hoc nature of<br />
the internal complaints process (Ministry of Justice, 2007:213; Ministry of<br />
Justice, 2005). There have also been criticisms of the delays in hearing, <strong>and</strong><br />
investigating, prisoner complaints. For instance, in 2007, the Ombudsmen‟s<br />
Office (Case Notes A10518) noted a prisoner complaint of assault had not<br />
been responded to with a prompt <strong>and</strong> fair investigation. There had been<br />
unreasonable delay in the authorities investigating the matter, <strong>and</strong> the<br />
investigation was deemed „inadequate‟. „It seemed...that the inmate‟s<br />
complaint had simply not been taken seriously‟. Previously, the<br />
Ombudsmen‟s Office (2005) also remarked that prisoners do not have faith in<br />
the internal complaints system. While it might have the capacity to work,<br />
prisoners do not have trust in the system. The Ombudsmen‟s Office<br />
anticipated that the more detailed requirements of the Corrections Regulations<br />
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