Editorial

DOI10.1177/000486587200500202
Published date01 June 1972
Date01 June 1972
AUST. & N.Z. JOURNAL OF
CR'IMI,NOLOGY
(June, 1972): 5, 2
EDITORIAL
67
Unrest
in
a
prison:
H.M.
Prison
Pentridge
OVER
recent
months
there
has
been clear evidence of a considerable degree
of
unrest
in H.M.
Prison
Pentridge,
the
large, multi-purpose
prison
for
the
State
of Victoria.
It
is
appropriate
to speculate on some of
the
possible
causes of
this
state
of affairs; a
state
of affairs
rather
more serious
than
is
suggested by
the
words of
the
responsible Minister
regarding
a
baton
charge
reported to
have
taken
place -
that
it
only
amounts
to a "very
minor
sttuation'".
It
has
been suggested
that
the
present
problems
stem
from
aprison
that
"is obsolete, overcrowded, understaffed
and
ill-equipped"
and
that
"its
inmates
are
not
goodv-goodtes'". Biles3considers
that
"the
recent
troubles
in
Pentridge
are
an
indirect
result
of years of financial
neglect
which
has
finally eroded away
any
remnants
of staff
and
inmate
morale". To
support
such
a
point
of view
he
sets
out
some comparative
data
regarding
financial
expenditure
on prisons for
the
six
States
of Australia.
These
Tables
are
reproduced on
Page
70.
From
these figures
he
makes
the
rather
arresting
point
that
Victorians
"are
being
let
off very lightly in paying for
our
prisons.
We
pay
less
than
two
cents
a week for
the
protection
we
gain
from
the
in-
carceration
and, hopefully,
the
correction, of
our
known
criminal
popula-
tion". He continues: "More money is
needed
for
our
prisons,
but
not
to
train
riot
squads or
purchase
tear-gas
equipment
...
to double
our
expenditure
on
prisons
each
year
would only be depriving us of
an
additional
300
yards
of
freeway, or
the
price of
one
cigarette aweek".
While
it
is no
doubt
true
that
many
prisons
are
old,
out-of-date
build-
ings, sometimes quite
unsuitable
for
the
housing of
any
human
being,
and
while
it
is
true
that
there
is
often
overcrowding
and
unattractively
served
food,
these
reasons will
not
really suffice to wholly explain
the
very consider-
able
unrest
among
both
prisoners
and
staff:
both
groups
inter-acting.
There
are
perhaps
two
major
reasons
for
the
marked
sense of grievance
entertained
by
many
of
the
prisoners.
The
first is
the
problem of staffing
a
modern
prison
and
the
matter
of communication between
the
various
workers,
and
in
particular
between
the
"professional staff"
and
the
custodial
personnel,
and
the
staff
and
the
inmates.
The
second reason
may
be, for
convenience,
termed
"justice".
The
matter
has
been
put
as follows: "discip-
line
may
be lax,
morale
low, justice
arbitrary
and
administration
Ioose'
The
problems of communication in
this
day
and
age
are
becoming of
increasing
importance
in
all
areas
of
endeavour
and
the
various aspects
of
this
matter
are
not
of less
importance
in a prison or a prison
administra-
tion. Today
the
work of a prison is
many
sided
and
undertaken
by a
variety
of personnel
trained
in
many
different disciplines. Even
among
the
prison
officers one
may
recognize a wide
spectrum
of
attitude,
ability
and
per-
1.
The
Age (Melbourne) 2
March
1972.
2. Ibid.
3.
The
Age (Melbourne) 10
March
1972.
4.
The
Age (Melbourne) 2
March
1972.
68 AUST. &N.Z. JO,URNAL OF CRIMI,NOLOGY (June, 1972): 5, 2
sonality. When one
turns
to
the
relationship between, for example, aprison
officer
and
apsychiatrist engaged in psychotherapy
then
the
problems of
communications markedly Increases.
It
Is suggested
that
apart
from
the
problems adverted to by Biles,
there
is evidence
that
some, perhaps many, prison
and
prisoner problems
stem
from staff difficulties, inconsistent
handling
of prisoners by different staff
members
and
the
lack of communication between all
the
various persons
involved. Maxwell Jones
has
wnttens:
"Treatment
in correctional
institu-
tions is now seen within a very broad frame of reference which embraces
virtually all activities in
the
inmate's
day
...
Much of
the
psychotherapy
18
carried
out
by pschologtsts
and
social workers, while
the
group counselling
can
be carried
out
by
any
member of
the
prison staff provided
they
accept
a
certain
amount
of inservice training". He continues": "There is a growing
interest
in applying
the
concept of a therapeutic community to prison
inmate
populations".
Such
an
approach
has
much
to commend
it
as a means of
therapy
for
the
prisoner
and
atechnique for enabling
and
encouraging
communication between
the
staff
and
the
staff
and
the
prisoners.
When one
turns
to
the
second problem,
that
of ,"justice", we
can
only
outline in brief a few areas which prisoners
tend
to see as representing
"in-
justice".
The
matter
of bail causes, in
many
cases, a real sense of grievance.
Often bail would
appear
to be
granted
or refused in a somewhat capricious
manner
and
the
monetary
aspect
may
be seen as being outside reality.
There
is
much
to be said for bail being
granted
or refused on objective grounds
and
to
this
end
the
Vera Foundation's
Manhattan
Bail ProjectS is of very
great
interest
and
might
well be implemented,
at
least
as a pilot investiga-
tion. To have a
rational
system would, in
the
first instance, reduce asense
of injustice
in
a
number
of
remanded
prisoners and, secondly,
might
well
increase
the
number
granted
bail, thereby reducing
the
present over-
crowding.
An additional fringe benefit accruing from more persons being on bail
would be
the
greater
and
more agreeable opportunities provided for persons
charged to consult with
their
legal advisers. This benefit is of some
real
importance, as a
number
of prisoners do feel aggrieved
that
they
have
not
been properly "looked
after"
in
the
court -
that
their
counsel
has
not
adequately conferred with
them
prior to
(and
during)
the
trial. They also
complain
that
after
the
trial
the
lawyers
take
singularly little
interest
in
their
erstwhile client. Such
an
attitude
is in line
with
the
findings of Zander
investigating English offenders who
had
sought to bring
their
cases to
the
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)9.
The
practice of remanding in custody for pre-sentence reports a
man
who
has
been awaiting his
trial
on bail,
and
who
has
every reason to hope
of being finally released on a bond or on probation, causes considerable dis-
tress to a
number
of prisoners. This
matter
has
been commented upon else-
5. Stamm, R.A. (1962) Relationship
Problems
Between Correctional
and
Psychiatric Staffs
in a
Prison
Hospital. Amer.J.Psychiat. 118 1031.
6. Jones, Maxwell (1968) Social
Psychiatry
in Practice. Penquin Books p, 133.
7. Ibid p. 135.
8. See Milte, K.L. (1968) Pre-Trial Detention. Aust. N.Z.J.Criminol. 1 225.
9. Zander, M. (1972) Legal Advice
and
Criminal Appeals: A
Survey
of Prisoners,
Prisons
and
Lawyers. 1972 Crim.L.R. 132
at
151, 154.
AUST. &N.Z. JOURNAL OF CRI'MINOLOGY (June, 1972): 5, 2 69
wnere'v
and
been condemned as a practice
with
little to commend it,
with
the
exception of
the
individual who, in
the
opinion of
the
judge or magistrate,
is almost certainly going to receive a prison sentence.
The
manifold problems of
intra-prison
discipline
are
very
real
and
undoubtedly cause a gross sense of injustice,
and
much
unrest, in
the
prisoner population. Some aspects of
this
problem have been
dealt
with
by
Maddtson!'. One
method
of dealing
with
some of
the
disciplinary problems
with
prisoners
might
be having minor infractions
dealt
with
by
the
Gov-
ernor,
with
the
consent of
the
prisoner. All
other
cases should be
dealt
with
by a
magistrate
sitting
in a proper court-room (within
the
prison),
with
the
prisoner
having
the
right
of legal representation.
It
is
not
ap-
propriate to be able to impose long sentences in "informal courts" where
"prisoners
can
say
their
pieces for themselves'vs. Justice
must
not
only be
done,
but
seen
and
appreciated by
the
prisoner
and
his peers to be done.
Finally,
and
we do
not
consider
that
we have exhausted
the
various
problems,
there
is
the
problem of parole. There
can
be no doubt
that
a
board sitting
and
making
decisions regarding prisoners which is remote,
before which most prisoners never
appear
and
which never gives reasons
for
its
decisions,
must
inevitably produce asense of grievance
and
unrest.
Asuggestion worthy of careful consideration is
that
the
parole board
should be "full-time".
Further,
there
may
well be a case for
permitting
a
prisoner to be represented if he should so desire. When all is said
and
done,
a
man
with asentence of 12 years,
with
anine years "minimum",
has
something like
three
years of his life in
the
hands
of
the
board - a
sentence longer
that
the
sentences being served by some 96
per
cent
of
the
male prisoners
in
Victoria13
We have been able to
touch
on only a few
matters
considered to be of
importance when endeavouring to
understand
the
various factors underlying
the
present
prison unrest.
It
is
not
suggested
that
everything
can
be
put
right, or changed in
the
direction of reducing unrest, overnight. However,
a
number
of changes can,
and
must, be done immediately. We
must
con-
sider
the
various alternatives to Imprtsonmentt-: we
must
be
prepared
to
spend additional money on
the
institutions in terms of
both
structure
and
staff; we
must
build
into
our institutions techniques for vastly
better
communication;
and
we
must
recognize
that
we need to be concerned
about justice
and
rights,
not
only before
and
during atrial,
but
after
the
individual
has
been sentenced.
It
may
be
that
all prisoners
are
not
goody-
goodies, may be most
are
not,
but
they
are
all
human
beings
with
all
the
emotions of homo sapiens.
10. Bartholomew, A.A. (1962) The Psychiatric
Report
for
the
Court. 1962 Crim.L.R. 19; Idem
(1966) Some Problems of Post-Conviction-Pre-Sentence Reports
with
Particular
Reference
to
Subsequent
Psychiatric
Treatment
and
Rehabilitation. Med.J.Aust.
ii
451.
11. Maddison, J.C. (1972)
Justice
in Corrections: The Dilemma. Aust.N.Z.J.Criminol. 5 5.
12. The Age (Melbourne) 8
February
1972.
13.
Annual
Report, Social
Welfare
Department,
Victoria,
for
Year
Ending
June
30th
1969.
Statistical
Tables 37, 39.
14. Drinkwater, R.W., Biles, D., and Daunton-Fear, M. (1969) Alternatives to Imprisonment:
1, 2, 3. Aust.N.Z.J.Criminol. 2217, 223, 227. Also Hoare, Mr. Justice, Bevan, C.R. and
Simpson, W.D. (1972)
Alternatives
to
Imprisonment
and
Progressive
Variations
in
Current
Practice. Aust.N.Z.J.Criminol. 5 15.
70 AUST. &N.Z. JOURNAL O'F CRIMINOLOGY (June, 1972): 5, 2
TABLE I
Expenditure
on A
ustralian
prisons, 1968-69
State
Net
expenditure
($1000)
Per
head
of population
($)
New
South
Wales
Victoria
Queensland
South
Australia
West
Australia
Tasmania
Total
6479 1.46
3342 1.00
2095 1.20
1688 1.49
2219 2.39
801 2.08
1
16,624
1.39
TABLE
II
Expenditure
on
Australian
prisoners,
1968-69
State
Daily
average
prisoners Expenditure
per
held
prisoner
($
per
week)
New
South
Wales
3685 33.81
Victoria 2315 27.76
Queensland 1072 37.58
South
Australia
1009 32.17
West
Australia 1351 31.59
Tasmania 333 46.26
Total 9765 32.72
Australian
and
New Zealand Society ot
Criminology
READERSwill note
that
in
this
number
of
the
Journal
we
are
pleased to be
able to publish aPresidential Foreword by
the
third
president
of
the
Aus-
tralian
and
New Zealand Society of Criminology. Professor K. O. Shatwell
will be well-known to
the
majority
of our readers,
but
it
is appropriate to
comment
that
he holds
the
Challis professorship of Law
and
is
the
Dean of
the
Law
Faculty
in
the
University of Sydney
and
is
the
Director of
the
Institute
of Criminology in
the
same
university.
Further,
while being
the
third
president
of
the
Society, Professor Shatwell is
the
first president from a
State
other
than
Victoria. We
congratulate
him
on his election to
the
presi-
dency
and
wish
him
a
happy
and
successful period
in
office. We also offer
our congratulations to Dr.
John
Robson, of New Zealand,
until
recently
Secretary for Justice in
that
country, who now fills
the
office
of vice-
president in place of Professor Shatwell.
At
the
same
time as
the
presidency moved
north
from Victoria to New
South
Wales, so also did
the
secretariat
of
the
Society.
The
full list of
AUST. &N.Z. JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGY (June. 1972): 5. 271
presently serving officers of
the
Society
are
set
out on
the
inside cover.
However, one
cannot
permit
this opportunity to pass without expressing
the
appreciation of members for
the
tremendous service given by Mr. D. Biles
as
the
first secretary
and
Mr. D. Hundley as first treasurer of
the
Society
They
had
the
unenviable
task
of launching
the
Society
and
setting
it
on
its feet. The present
state
of
the
Society clearly demonstrates how success-
ful were
their
labours.
It
is considered
that
the
move of
the
secretariat from Melbourne to
Sydney is necessary
at
this
time. The society is Australian
and
New Zealand
and
not
Victorian or Melbourne. To make
this
clear it was
thought
proper
that
the
secretariat should
not
remain permanently in one capital city.
In
addition,
an
appreciation
that
the
Society is
National,
and
not
essentially
state,
may aid in achieving agreater number of applications
for membership from persons in States
other
than
Victoria. Again, as we
thank
the
old
secretariat
for
their
hard
working
and
loyal services over
the
past
four years, we wish
the
new officers all success during
their
tenure
of
omce.

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