Prisoners - Legal Information Access Centre - NSW Government

withdrawal of privileges for up to 56 days (includes
things like access to television, radio, films, videos,
CDs and DVDs, leisure activities, ability to purchase
goods, contact visits and keeping of approved
property);
> confinement to a cell for up to 7 days with or without
deprivation of privileges;
> imposing a penalty may be deferred conditional upon
good behaviour for uup to two months;
> cancellation of payments for a period of up to two
weeks.
Serious offences are referred to a Visiting Magistrate
who can impose more extensive punishments, including
extending the inmate’s sentence by up to six months.
The Visiting Magistrate will refer the matter to the
Local Court where the offence constitutes a criminal
offence. A decision of the Visiting Magistrate may be
appealed to the District Court under Part 3 of the
Crimes (Local Courts Appeal and Review) Act 2001.
BAnKing And purcHAsing
Correctional facilities are cashless environments –
inmates have a prison account where money from their
families or from work programs is deposited. This
account is used to make purchases from the prison ‘buyup’,
items such as toothpaste, soap, tobacco, tea, coffee,
canned food, soft drinks and cereal.
mAil
Inmates are able to send and receive letters and parcels
to and from any other person. The material sent by an
inmate must not be threatening, abusive, indecent or
obscene. The general manager may open and inspect
letters and parcels, and may confiscate any prohibited
goods. There are some bodies that are exempt from
having correspondence opened, for example the Legal
Aid Commission, the Ombudsman, the Judicial
Commission. 94 Stricter regulations apply to prisoners
with the highest classification – category AA male
inmates and Category 5 female inmates.
TelepHOne cAlls
Unconvicted inmates are permitted to make up to
three local or fringe area telephone calls per week
at departmental expense. Their legal telephone calls
are also made at departmental expense. Convicted
inmates are permitted to make one local or fringe
area call per week at departmental expense. Telephone
calls for humanitarian purposes such as illness, death
in the family or birth of a child should be provided
without delay and in addition to the inmate’s normal
entitlements. Inmates are permitted to contact mobile
telephones.
Inmate calls to personal telephone numbers may be
monitored and/or recorded. Calls may be terminated by
a correctional officer if they believe that it will ‘prejudice
good order and security of any correctional centre’
(clause 110). There is a limit to the number of calls and
faxes that an inmate can make per week, which depends
on their classification and is fixed by the Commissioner.
The cost of additional calls is generally to be met by
the inmate, with some exceptions, such as calls to
the Ombudsman, Independent Commission Against
Corruption or Legal Aid Commission (see clause 111).
Possession of a mobile telephone (or camera, video or
audio recorder) is a correctional centre offence.
visiTs
A correctional centre will have set visiting hours, and
visits are usually a minimum of 30 minutes. The general
manager can authorise visits outside of visiting hours in
some circumstances. The details of all visits are recorded.
There are a range of ‘special’ visits which include visits
by a legal practitioner, visits by a diplomat to foreign
nationals, visits to Aboriginal inmates by the Aboriginal
Legal Service field officer. The Commissioner can
restrict particular people from visiting, and can restrict
the type of visit (eg make it a non-contact visit). An
inmate is entitled to refuse to see a visitor unless it is a
government official.
A visitor may be refused entry if they are believed to be
under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Visitors may
be required to provide proof of identity and a reason
for their visit. They may have their personal possessions
searched and inspected (including use of a sniffer dog
and scanner). Prior permission must be obtained for
visitors to take photographs or other recordings inside
a correctional centre. Visits must be in sight of a
correctional officer and are designated as ‘contact visits’
where physical contact is permitted, or ‘non-contact
visits’ where contact cannot take place. Visits may be
terminated:
> if the visitor is considered to have behaved in
contravention of the relevant legislation;
> if the visitor has behaved threateningly or offensively;
> in the interests of the visitor;
> in the interests of the security of the correctional
centre.
94. For the full list of exempt organisations see Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Regulation 2008 see the entry for ‘exempt organisations’ in the
dictionary section at the end of the regulation, available at www.legislation.nsw.gov.au
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