Vacant positions mean that some prisoners spend 23 hours a day locked in their cells while others face months-long delays to parole hearings
Janine Bonifant, a member of the Society’s criminal law committee says it is the “biggest crisis [prisons] have faced” in her 30 years as a criminal lawyer.
Bonifant gives the example of one of her clients who needed to complete a rehabilitation programme, in order to become eligible for parole. Initially, nothing was available due to the Covid lockdown, then it was delayed due to staffing shortages. One Pillars social worker, who wished to remain anonymous, says a client she worked with has been declined parole seven times because he has no access to a programme with Tongan facilitators.
“I don’t disagree with Corrections that there is a health and safety aspect to this, but my view is, at the same time, it is a human rights issue. [Prisoners] need to be able to talk to counsel, and counsel needs to be able to take in disclosure to go through the case,” Bonifant says.
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