Prison Issues Project (PIP)
The Prisons Issues Project (PIP) has two aims:
- to give law students an opportunity to conduct research into contemporary issues relating to prisons in the ACT, and Australia more generally, and to formulate and advocate for proposed changes to corrections law, policy and procedure;
- to promote legal literacy in the ACT prison by involving students in a hands-on needs assessment and fulfilment.
Legal Literacy Team and A.Prof. Simon Rice outside the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
Project synopsis
This project has three sub-projects which entail both practical involvement with the ACT prison – the Alexander Maconochie Centre, and research into practices and broader issues.
PIP runs three sub-projects:
Legal Literacy Project
This project is an intensive project in which law students educate detainees of the new ACT human rights-compliant prison – the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC), on issues pertaining to them. These issues include prison legislation, human rights and legal procedure. This project ran a successful pilot study for six weeks in Semester 2, 2010, under the enthusiastic hand of Jeremy Boland – an SJD student at the ANU College of Law and the Official Prison Visitor at the AMC, and the student coordinator John Croker. The pilot involved a small cohort of students going into the the AMC and delivering legal education and general support to detainees in Sentenced Unit 1.
The project delivered has delivered three courses since 2010, and will deliver one course each semester in 2012.
The Legal Literacy Project is possible only with the support and cooperation of the ACT Corrective Services, the staff of the AMC, and the Faculty adviser Mark Nolan.
Media
Radio National interview (MP3 audio 6.55MB) with 2010 project coordinator Jeremy Boland and student coordinator John Croker.
Concluding Report 2010
Concluding Report (PDF 34KB) prepared by Jeremy Boland as at 1 October 2010.
Student Interviews
Segregation and Mental Health Project
This project is researching the human rights implications of solitary confinement in prisons, with particular regard to the ACT Human Rights Act, and Australia's obligations under the Convention Against Torture. More information about this sub-project is available in the Segregation Project scope document (PDF 52KB).
A small subgroup is looking into the human rights aspects of mental health diagnoses and access to medication.
If you are interested in being involved in the Segregation Project, please e-mail lrsj@law.anu.edu.au.
Plain English Version of AMC Disciplinary Policies and Procedures
This project is a research project which translates existing AMC disciplinary policies and procedures into plain-English versions for use by detainees and officers. It includes identification of policies and procedures which could benefit from translation into plain English, summarising of these areas, and an implementation strategy which includes the writing of a training module.
More information about this sub-project is available in the Plain English Version of AMC Disciplinary Policies and Procedures scope document (PDF 51KB).
If you are interested in participating in this project, please email lrsj@law.anu.edu.au.
