Prison Issues Project (PIP)
Faculty advisor: Dr Mark Nolan
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.
Legal Literacy Project
This project is an immersive program in which law students discuss the law and legal issues with people incarcerated in the Alexander Machonochie Centre. The project runs each semester, with extensive training for the first half of the semester, and six sessions in the programs area of the AMC in the second half of the semester. Topics discussed cover all areas of the law (not just criminal law) and include discussions relating to discretion, interpretation, human rights and legal institutions.
The project began in semester 2, 2010 and was initially developed by the then Official Visitor of the AMC and seasonal academic at the ANU College of Law Jeremy Boland. The program has been very successfully run ever since. An expansion to more areas of the AMC is planned.
There will be one program run in Semester 1 and one program run in Semester 2 each year.
The Legal Issues Project acknowledges the ongoing support of ACT Corrective Services in running the program.
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.
