Introduction
Introduction
This chapter sets out the legislative framework applicable to, the human rights and limited remedies available to, and some key legal issues experienced by, people in prison. The chapter is not an exhaustive exploration of these issues and will be supplemented in time by Fitzroy Legal Service’s forthcoming Prison Legal Handbook.
The authors of this chapter note that, too often, Victorian prisons serve as warehouses for people who the government have marginalised and failed to support in the community. This includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are over- represented in, and disproportionately harmed by, the prison system due to racist laws and policies, the ongoing impacts of colonisation, systemic racism and discriminatory policing.
The patchwork of laws, policies and procedures canvassed in this chapter, that aim to protect the rights of people in prison, are currently insufficient and often fail to do so. In circumstances where there are laws, policies and procedures available, people’s ability to exercise their rights can be limited. A severe power imbalance exists between people in prison and prison authorities which not only places people at risk of being subjected to wrongdoing, but also limits people’s ability to hold anyone accountable for harm as they are dependent on the people responsible for imprisoning them for access to mechanisms to exercise their rights.
This is compounded by the limited legal services available to people in prison. In Victoria, there is currently no dedicated, standalone legal service available to people in prisons and while a handful of existing legal services offer invaluable support – largely over the phone – there is demonstrated need for such services as recommended by the recent Cultural Review of the Adult Custodial Corrections System, which said that the Victorian government ‘should establish a dedicated and independent advice service for people in custody, to give them access to timely independent advice and support in relation to their rights and legal issues.’
