April 4, 2022
Completing our schedule of site visits
Throughout March, members of our Expert Panel and the Review team have continued our schedule of site visits, spending time at the Metropolitan Remand Centre, Hopkins Correctional Centre, Melbourne Assessment Prison, Marngoneet Correctional Centre and the Karreenga Annexe, and Barwon Prison. Later this week, we will visit the final site on our schedule, Fulham Correctional Centre in Sale.
Visiting sites of such varied structure, scope and security requirements has played an invaluable role in building our understanding of the system. We have seen the complexity of management and staff roles and the varied challenges they face each day at work. We have heard about the diverse needs and experiences of people in custody and how the system can best support their rehabilitation. And we have gained first-hand insights into systemic issues that exist and opportunities to make the system and environment fairer, safer and more capable.
Developing our findings and recommendations
The conclusion of our site visits also marks the formal end of the engagement phase of the Review. We have now closed submissions to the Review and requests for confidential interviews. The next phase of the Review will focus on analysing the rich data we’ve received so far.
Along with the individual experiences we have heard from staff and people in custody, we have benefited enormously from the participation of various organisational stakeholders, advocates and experts who have shared their perspectives. Expert input has helped clarify our thinking about the system’s purpose and objectives, identify opportunities to prioritise staff wellbeing and capability, enhance the role lived experience can play in operational decisions, consider how the system can best support Aboriginal cultural safety, for both Aboriginal staff and people in custody, and look at initiatives and processes that could help manage integrity risks and ensure accountability.
In the months ahead, we will be continuing our consultation with stakeholders, advocates and experts, to help refine our findings and recommendations, ahead of our report to the Minister for Corrections, due mid-year.
I extend my thanks to every individual and organisation who have shared their insights and perspectives. Your voices have played – and continue to play – a central role in ensuring our recommendations can effect real and enduring change within Victoria’s prisons and correctional centres.
If you have any queries or questions about the Review, don’t hesitate to contact us via correctionsreview@justice.vic.gov.au.
Until our next update, stay safe and well.
Kristen Hilton
Review Lead, Cultural Review of the Adult Custodial Corrections System
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