There is a rare momentum and a rare opportunity. The plight of verballed, loaded and otherwise framed prisoners is momentarily a mainstream issue. The Attorney-General, Mr. Shaw, recently committed his department to ³fast-tracking² investigations into allegations of wrongful convictions emerging from the Royal Commission. He has indicated that ³something more² than the mere availability of a conviction review under s474 of the Crimes Act (when all avenues of appeal have been exhausted) should be available to those wrongly jailed on fabricated police evidence.

If saying was doing, this would be cause for some satisfaction among people claiming to have been wrongfully convicted. But Mr. Shaw is a politician, and as such he likes to be seen to be acting. In politics, where perceptions are everything, appearing to be ³proactive² is almost as good as-and often better than-doing something. In other words, saying is not doing. And as for what ³something more means,² your guess is as good as ours.

The Crown Solicitor, Mr. Ian Knight, and the Solicitor-General, Mr. Keith Mason QC met in early October to talk about establishing a ³fast-track² mechanism. The results of this meeting are not yet known. But there appears to be little enthusiasm for the establishment of an independent review board to investigate alleged wrongful convictions, as called for by the Criminal Justice Coalition. The NSW Law Society has stated that ³serious consideration² should be given to the proposal of an independent review board by the Attorney-General.

Mr. Shaw has said such a panel would not be established unless ³the number of cases is sufficient to give rise to very serious concerns². Illustrating the art of understatement, he said there were ³about half a dozen cases where there is sworn evidence raising a real question mark over the conviction of a person². There are at least 43 cases of alleged wrongful convictions brought to the attention of Justice Action. Sores more have contacted private solicitors. Ex-Detective Sergeant Trevor Haken told the Royal Commission on October 9 he had committed perjury on ³numerous occasions². Other detectives he knew did it - it was ³part of being a detective...giving false evidence was purely a matter of course.² The fact is, proactive steps must be taken by the government, with the assistance of the Director of Public Prosecutions, to find the full number of convictions affected by fabrications.

But amid such mounting evidence of widespread fabrication, the questions of admissibility of evidence are more nebulous than ever; it is doubtful if the tried and failed mechanisms of the State can be trusted to determine these issues. This is why an independent review board, disconnected from the Stateıs prosecuting infrastructure, is essential to the ³fast-tracking² process.

Some have suggested this board could be constituted out of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, but the ICAC too has been tarnished by its perceived failure to detect police corruption, despite ostensible efforts. Perhaps a better solution is for the Royal Commission to widen its scope. It should be allowed to use the wide-ranging investigative powers successful in unveiling corrupt cops. Full access to DPP and police files is essential. Evidence collated should be made available to imprisoned persons, along with competent and State-funded independent legal advice. Appeals or claims under s475 could then be speedily prepared, and handed to the Attorney-General for his promised ³fast-tracking².

Liv Gulliver

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Commonwealth Blocks Freedom for Neil Chidiac

A year after the main prosecution witness admitted his perjury, Neil Chidiac is spending his eighth year in jail. Although Chief Justice Murray Gleeson has directed Justice Dunford to inquire into the case, on the basis of new evidence, this move has been frustrated by a jurisdictional challenge from the Federal Attorney General. However having challenged jurisdiction, the Commonwealth has not yet provided an alternative remedy for Neil's dilemma.

Framed (Numbers 15, 16, 18 & 19) has previously reported on the travesty of justice in Neil's case. A weak drug import case, based on admitted perjurers, managed to secure a jury conviction. The trial judge despaired over the conviction, but no appeal succeeded. Fresh evidence was difficult to find, as there was so little evidence against Neil in the first place, but in 1994 a private investigator managed to secure a full confession from chief prosecution witness Alfred Oti, in the Solomon Islands.

The question of whether the special inquiry section (474, previously 475) of the NSW Crimes Act (1900) could be used by federal prisoners had not been tested, as at March this year, when the Chief Justice directed the preliminary inquiry. Commonwealth officers, in intervening in Justice Dunford's proceedings, suggested to Neil's lawyer Jim McCrudden that an application to the Federal Attorney General could secure a referral to the Court of Criminal Appeal. McCrudden duly made this application, but the feds have not yet responded.

The onus is now squarely on Commonwealth Attorney General Michael Lavarch to resolve this bureaucratic logjam, and to do it quickly.

Tim Anderson

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The Politics of 'Corruption'

Corruption is essentially a liberal concept, in that it portrays police misconduct, or antisocial use of power, as a departure from some perceived ideal or imagined normal standard. The radical view would be that police serve powerful interests and, so long as they are discreet, a blind eye will be turned to their enjoying some of the privileges of their delegated power. Similarly, a blind eye will be turned to their 'bending the rules', so as to better carry out their routine activities.

Bribery amongst corrupt police, brothel owners and drug-dealers is old, recurring and familiar territory in Australian history. It is also a very limited vision of what constitutes "corruption". In 1882 the Royal Commission into the 'Kelly Outbreak' produced a supplementary report which noted that certain Victorian police had been blackmailing sly grog shops, taking bribes from brothel owners and being the intimate associates of persons of ill repute, to the scandal and demoralisation of the entire force.

Such activities might be called entrepreneurial or common corruption, to emphasise their essentially commercial and individualistic nature. This is mostly what we have seen in the current Royal Commission's Kings Cross hearings. If exposed, police hierarchies and governments have few problems in condemning these practices, and expelling those involved. This is the case even where such corruption is exposed at senior levels, as at Queensland's Fitzgerald Inquiry.

Attempts to tackle other serious abuses of police power have been more strenuously resisted. Significantly, the 'Kelly Outbreak' Royal Commission did not investigate the late Ned Kelly's complaints that many of his friends had been "lagged innocent" (ie. framed) by the Victorian Police. A century later a Victorian inquiry ventured into this territory, but retreated with a bloody nose. Multiple and routine criminal acts committed by Victorian Police were heavily criticised at the 1976 Beach inquiry. However virtually all Barry Beach QC's recommendations were rejected by the Victorian government.

Beach had made recommendations to strengthen suspects' rights in police interrogations and identification parades, as well as calling for an independent complaints procedure. These followed his adverse findings against 55 police for a range of crimes including: conspiring to give false evidence, assault, harassment & intimidation, perjury & fabrication of evidence, failing to investigate complaints, suppression of evidence, and unlawful arrest. These activities might be called criminal process corruption, and are significant in that they typically involve numbers of police working together to lie to the courts and cover up serious police criminality.

In October 1976, in a meeting at Melbourne's Festival Hall, two-thirds of the Victorian Police Force made several demands of the state government and initiated a work-to-rule campaign. None of the 55 police were successfully prosecuted. Further, the state government instituted an inquiry which overturned all of Beach's procedural recommendations. Such confrontations have encouraged state governments and official inquirers to sidestep criminal process corruption, and to focus on common corruption. They have also conditioned the legal community's construction of 'corruption' as essentially entrepreneurial.

When Ian Temby was carrying out ICAC's Milloo Inquiry, into 'the relationship between police and criminals', I met a well known criminal lawyer and we spoke of a senior serving police officer. He had shot innocent people, verballed them and loaded them up with drugs, I said. "Oh yes, they all do that; but he's not a quid man, is he?" the lawyer replied.

Tim Anderson

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BAD NEWS ON ABORIGINAL DEATHS

It looks like 1995 is going to become the worst on record for Black deaths in custody. At least 10 Aboriginal people have died in Corrective Services custody in eight months, and three more in police pursuits. Five Kooris have died in NSW. There have been five black deaths in South Australia, and two in Queensland.

The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody found that Aboriginal people die in Custody at about the same rate as non-Aboriginal people. The problem is the imprisonment rate. They now find themselves in jail 16 times more often than non-Aboriginal people, and that rate is getting worse. More Aboriginal prisoners per head of population means more deaths per head of population. In 1988 they were only 14 times more likely to end up in prison. So while Aboriginal people make up 1-2% of the Australian population, they now make up 17% of the prison population.

NSW has the worst record in all this. There have been 18 Aboriginal deaths in Custody since the beginning of 1991. NSW also has the worst record on numbers of Aboriginal people inside. One word explains the trend. Yabsley.

Aboriginal prison numbers starkly illustrate the effect of Yabsleyís laws. In the four years around the birth of ëTruth in Sentencingí in 1989 in NSW, the non-Aboriginal prison population rose 54%. The Koori prison population rose by 80%. By July 1995 it had risen by 144%, from 369 to 901.

The Yabsley factor is tempting the mindless and prejudiced law and order lobby everywhere. All Australian states except Queensland have now abolished remissions, including last month the Northern Territory. Queensland, meanwhile, is the only state in which the Koori and Murray over-representation rate has decreased. Worldwide, remissions have now been abolished in parts of Canada and the US, and in the UK. With the demise of the dock statement, designed for people unfamiliar with the white legal system, our politicians have made the outlook pretty grim for Aboriginals. The only good news is that the Royal Commission seems to have had an effect on police. There have been no identified Aboriginal deaths in police cells so far this year.

Paul Castley

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THE GOOD OIL

Cases: Two men were recently found not guilty of murder, after delays which resulted in over two years awaiting a trial. Of course their first trial resulted in a mis-trial. Both men had no prior criminal convictions and complained vehemently of a police case that involved the normal fabrication of evidence. That some of the police involved are under investigation by the Police Royal Commission, seems to be standard fare in NSW. Material they attempted to subpoena, concerning the detectives, was suppressed from the trial. We know how difficult it is for the criminal accused to sling mud on police during trials (especially where judges support the police skulduggery). Never mind the accuseds lost their businesses and de-facto relationships during the period. Of course, there is no compensation for their losses.

Cases: Sorry to see Billy Stuart pass away as he was a charismatic feller. He recently was found not guilty of an armed robbery that had all the standard hallmarks of police skulduggery. Further, he was under a lot of pressure concerning four other cases. The Good Oil was monitoring one of them which included a convicted rapist running around Sydney with a loaded gun, all at the behest of investigating detectives. It was the usual sordid case whereby entrapment resulted from the police being permitted to do what they like. They make Crown informants work for them, in preference to arresting them for any crimes committed. It seems detectives are not too happy with the new anti-police corruption strategies that include entrapment. The Police Association has condemned the use of entrapment. Never mind Billy, no more load- ups and verbals, and you donít have to worry about detectives and dogs.

Cases: Further case studies have revealed other evidence of police/ informant relationships In this instance a convicted pedophile, in the attendance of two Chatswood detectives, secured the release of a Crown informant (dog) from the Supreme Court during a bail application. Of course they all went back to Chatswood together. Did you know the pedophile, who later took children as hostages during a siege was involved along with two others in the murder of four innocent people, including a fourteen year old girl who had her throat cut? When this evidence of police/informant relationships was adduced during a trial, of course the trial Judge made it difficult for the unrepresented accused. Incidentally, that man encountered many hurdles in his attempts to highlight yet another fabricated case. Strange friends police have. and pretty damn innapropriate considering the circumstances.

Cases: Looks like another Kelvin Condren case shaping up for an Aboriginal convicted of murder. The usual poor identification and highly unreliable scientific test evidence. Where did those three glass particle fragments come from, allegedly found on the Aboriginalís jacket? We know that during his remand period he once attended Waverley Local Court; somehow the police managed to come up with a confession from him, after a prison informant came forward and made the usual statement. That the dog refused to stick with it later on didnít seem to matter for the Aboriginal lad. We also know that the plaster cast taken at the crime scene was far too big for his foot size. Of course the Aboriginal lad made an outburst after being convicted, and we hear your anger. He recently lost his appeal which is typical of so many cases in NSW. At his sentencing he told the judge he was a prisoner of war. Well that is exactly right, as the good old British Justice has failed to protect the rights of Aboriginal Australians for more then 200 years. We are doing our best to help.

Cases: Well, down at the Police Royal Commission they may be clapping their hands at the likes of ex-Detective Haken rolling over. However, not so in prison; when are they going to order a review of any prisonerís case that had that creep involved in it? After all, he has admitted to being as bent as can be. He certainly is withholding information concerning the particulars of cases where police framed suspects. Did you know that his last major murder investigation was one where all the scum tricks were in play? These included a notebook verbal and, gee whizz Haken, where did that murder weapon come from? What was your relationship with the woman who later became the Crown Informant? What concerns the Good Oil is the poor bastards who are sat in prison because of you and your buddies framing people up. Of course the only politician who had enough guts to come out and criticise police for this sort of thing was John Hatton, who described the police as out of control. We have a gutless government that is unable or unwilling to take them on. As for that murder conviction, best the authorities be having a look at that one particularly.

Cases: Did you know that during 1994 no less then six accused sacked their legal teams, after levels of incompetence during trials that resulted in convictions for serious murder charges. The Legal Aid fiasco carries on; we are critical of the embarrassing manner in which trials are conducted in this state. Such deficiencies were focused on during recent arguments concerning the biggest murder proceedings in this state. We are aware how Legal Aid procedures operate. For a long time they have been getting away with it, in cahoots with prosecuting authorities and the usual sordid tricks of police collaboration (scrum downs) and their typical lies. Of course if you do not know your way around and you can not afford to fund your own trial, you are in deep shit having to rely on Legal Aid. Maybe things will change, if everyone pleaded not guilty in this State when charged; then sought a full committal hearing; and if an incompetent legal team was provided by Legal Aid, dismissed it prior to trial. Remember the sentences are getting longer, the public is screaming for your necks, and there are no remissions. Wake up fellers, you have nothing to lose but a conviction and jail term.

Cases: Compare the funding permitted to Terry Griffiths in defence of his sexual harassment charges. It must help when you are a serving Police Minister; they must try to clear your name, from a groper of women to a lamb. Or what about the funding of Carmen Lawrenceís legal team? Of course, these people are on fat pay packets and could probably afford to fund their own legal expenses. The recent decision that Legal Aid in NSW can determine the level of funding for the trial of Ivan Milat is deplorable. Effectively it prevents Ivan from getting a fair trial in a State that has proven to be the most corrupt. Who needs this sort of "legal aid"?

Prison: So the Dept. Of Corrective Services is transferring prisoners from all over the State to Goulburn in an attempt to soften the hole up. We heard recently that a prisoner (Cory Kelessy) had gone on a hunger strike to protest the transfer. We have also heard several other complaints, and are doing our best to bring it to the attention of the department. They seem to care little about the welfare of the prisoners, and as usual do whatever they want without considering the needs of families which are visiting these blokes.

Cases: Whatever happened to that young girl who alleged she was raped by police while in custody? If you are reading this, could you get in touch with Justice Action, as it seems that those concerned have gone terribly quiet on this one. In fact any of you girls that have been assaulted by police could you make sure we are made aware, as we are thinking of compiling the information and forwarding it to the Human Rights Commission.

Cases: Shane Andrews; we recently spent an afternoon with a solicitor going through the opinion concerning the appeal. We are attempting to locate the statutory declaration of the Crown informant, if you have a copy could you please forward it on to Justice Action? The opinion was pretty weak; we understand pursuing an inquiry may be a better option.

Ian "Makkah" McDougall

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Blood Borne Communicable Diseases

The Community Policy

On 18 September, 1995, Chris Puplick, the Chairman of the Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW, launched the Blood Borne Communicable Diseases (BBCD) Community Policy (the Policy).

The Policy is a comprehensive statement of the objectives and interests of a wide range of community organisations regarding the threat of BBCDs in prisons.

The Policy has been prepared by: the AIDS Council of NSW; the NSW Users and AIDS Association; the Hepatitis C Council of NSW; the Gender Centre; and Prisonersí Action Group. It has been endorsed by a number of community organisations including Justice Action, Council for Civil Liberties and Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Watch Committee.

Prisoners are at special risk of BBCD infection in NSW. The prevalence of HIV infection is up to 40 times, and Hepatitis C up to 160 times the level in the general community. The increased risk of infection stems from a range of activities including unsafe sexual practices and the sharing of drug injecting and tattooing equipment.

NSW prisoners face obstacles to prevention and care of diseases not faced by the wider community. Urgent measures must be implemented to prevent the potential spiralling rates of infection.

"Aspects of the policy might be controversial," Mr Puplick said, "but the basic premise that prisoners are entitled to minimum standards of care should not in any way be seen as controversial."

The failure to issue condoms endangers lives and is "criminal and morally reprehensible." Not only does it put the prisoners at risk, Mr Puplick warned, but also their families once prisoners are released. The distribution of condoms in jails is a common practice in both Canada and most of Western Europe.

The policy sets out the means of prevention of transmission of BBCDs, the appropriate treatment of positive prisoners, and special measures for the support and care of positive prisoners. Its recommendations also cover the wider issues of legal reform, education of judicial officers about BBCDs, access to drug treatment options in prisons, the right of prisoners to private and consensual sex with visitors, and the treatment of all sexual assaults in prison as criminal matters. Specific recommendations address the special needs of transgender prisoners.

The immediate aim is to form working groups to commence negotiations with the Departments of Health and Corrective Services.

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VISITORS SURVEY:FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Many members of Justice Action expressed doubts when it was proposed that we seek the co-operation of the Department of Corrective Services in implementing a survey of prison visitors as part of the International Year of the Family. After much debate, it was decided that the benefits of such a survey to visitors and prisoners outweighed the concerns expressed. Unfortunately, the sorry history of the project has proved the doubters correct.

If the six month delay in implementing the survey wasn't enough, the inept privacy invasion by the departmentóenvelopes containing the survey identified the recipient with a prison causing unnecessary anguish for many visitorsóhad people gnashing their teeth.

Having pigged out on their morning tea, would the bureaucrats be so perverse as to breathe life into the doubters darkest thoughts, you might ask? Alas, yes for they are but public servants. Six months later, Justice Action had still not received, despite repeated assurances, the department's statistical analysis of survey returns; the number of which indicated a significant interest by visitors in the initiative.

While waiting for the bureaucrats to come back from their long lunch, Justice Action prepared its own analysis of the written comments made by the respondents to gain an indication of the visitors major concerns. This revealed that physical conditions of visiting areas, restricted visiting days and visiting hours, lack of visitor information and transport should be the focus for the improvement of visitor services.

Some of the suggested improvements relate to specific prisons while others are more general. Many of the suggestions made by respondents can be implemented easily, at little cost. In some cases the suggestions made have already been incorporated at newer and/or lower security prisons and should be immediately extended right across the prison system.

Respondents concerns included:
-inadequate and/or overcrowded waiting and visiting areas,
-lack of protection from the physical elements,
-the suitability and arrangement of furniture, and
-the lack of toilet facilities, which in some prisons means the termination of a visit.

There is a clear need to involve children in the rehabilitation process. The responses indicate that their special needs, especially during longer visits, require urgent attention. Respondents suggested that:
-adequate toys, books, games, and other activities be provided,
-change rooms/areas be provided for parents with young babies,
-appropriate food be available, and
-where rules exist, which prevent prisoners from enjoying closer contact and participation in activities with children, these rules should be relaxed.

In November last year, in responding to a recommendation about facilities for children during visits, Major General Smethurst assured the Legal Aid Commission that the concerns expressed at the Prisoners and Families Forum with regards this matter were being addressed by this very survey.

The changing nature of employment; more part-time, weekend and shift work needs to be reflected in the access visitors have to relatives and friends in prison. Weekday visits would also assist the many parents of young school-age children who would not need to make child-care arrangements. This would also allow couples time together without the added stress of attendant children on every visit.

Longer visiting hours was identified as important by many respondents to help maintain the relationship with their partners. This is particularly important to people who have to travel long distances because of the associated costs of travel and in some cases accommodation. Extra visiting times would help alleviate the overcrowding of visiting areas experienced by some respondents and make visiting more manageable for supervising staff.

Many respondents complained of little or no information regarding visiting prisoners. In some cases contradictory information was supplied by different officers. People indicated that the different regulations at similarly classed institutions were also a cause of unnecessary friction between staff and visitors. Distance and cost involved in travelling to prisons, especially those away from major population centres such as Junee and Cooma, the lack of bus services to and from train stations or bus terminals and uncoordinated transport timetabling which can add significantly to travel times were all identified as areas of concern for visitors.

There is a clear need for prisoners to be kept in facilities near their families to avoid the impact of added costs of travel. This is something that the department must address immediately. It is one more reason to stop the high incident of transfers which also effect education and training opportunities.

The concerns expressed about travel indicate there is a need for the new government to reconsider the construction of prisons in distant country centres such as Junee. While such a policy may provide much needed employment in economically depressed areas, and votes for the respective politicians, it clearly disadvantages the families of prisoners and excludes them from a more significant role in the rehabilitation process.

Justice Action's analysis was presented to the new prisons minister, Bob Debus, at a meeting in July where we questioned the department's commitment to the survey and the implementation of its results. Following this meeting Justice Action was informed that the number crunching would be completed by the end of August. Corrective Services afternoon tea must be better than that served around here as, at the time of writing, the survey analysis has yet to find its way out of the canteen.

By now the groups' doubters are rolling about the floor in stiches. Could this be an example of the military efficiency bovver boy Yabsley had in mind when he recruited those Herr kommandant dudes they cry, waving their white flags in anticipation of immanent invasion from the North?

Tick, tick, tick ... the department's bundy clock fast approaches the flexing hour. Canapes and champagne await our vogue dinners while prisoners and their visitors, served a diet of callousness and hubris, are left to starve by the incompetents assigned by society to care for their welfare.

Gerald Gales

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