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Yes. If it is alleged that you have committed an offence in custody, you may be charged by police and the matter could go through the courts like any other offence.
If you are accused of committing an offence while you are in prison, it may be dealt with through an internal disciplinary process in the prison or it may go through the courts like an alleged offence in the community would.
This will likely depend on the seriousness of the alleged offence.
If this happens, it is important for you to get legal advice.
If you are charged with breaking a rule in prison, this can result in disciplinary action, in addition to potential criminal charges.
You have the right to a fair disciplinary hearing. In this hearing, a hearing officer will tell you about the procedure in the hearing, read the charge out to you and give you an opportunity to plead guilty or not guilty.
How the rest of the hearing will play out depends on whether you plead guilty or not guilty.
If you plead guilty, you will then be able to make a plea about what penalty you should receive, something that is called “submissions”. In submissions, you can talk about why the offence happened, what was happening to you at the time it happened and whether it’s the first time you have been in trouble for something like this.
If you plead not guilty, the hearing officer will likely then hear from witnesses, look at relevant information and listen to arguments on both sides. They will then make a decision about whether the prison offence occurred or not.
If you attend this hearing, you will have a chance to respond and present your own evidence.
Yes. If it is alleged that you have committed an offence in custody, you may be charged by police and the matter could go through the courts like any other offence.
If you are accused of committing an offence while you are in prison, it may be dealt with through an internal disciplinary process in the prison or it may go through the courts like an alleged offence in the community would.
This will likely depend on the seriousness of the alleged offence.
If this happens, it is important for you to get legal advice.
If you are charged with breaking a rule in prison, this can result in disciplinary action, in addition to potential criminal charges.
You have the right to a fair disciplinary hearing. In this hearing, a hearing officer will tell you about the procedure in the hearing, read the charge out to you and give you an opportunity to plead guilty or not guilty.
How the rest of the hearing will play out depends on whether you plead guilty or not guilty.
If you plead guilty, you will then be able to make a plea about what penalty you should receive, something that is called “submissions”. In submissions, you can talk about why the offence happened, what was happening to you at the time it happened and whether it’s the first time you have been in trouble for something like this.
If you plead not guilty, the hearing officer will likely then hear from witnesses, look at relevant information and listen to arguments on both sides. They will then make a decision about whether the prison offence occurred or not.
If you attend this hearing, you will have a chance to respond and present your own evidence.
The Ombudsman is an independent organisation that oversees complaints against government decisions and actions. Each state/territory has their own Ombudsman. The Ombudsman responds to a complaint by investigating from both sides what has happened and why.
Strip searching is a security practice purportedly used by prison authorities to prevent drugs and other contraband from entering prisons.
One of the most important aspects of self-advocacy in prison is to understand the rights of prisoners and the limitations of power of prison authorities.
All people behind bars should be treated with dignity.
One of the most important aspects of self-advocacy in prison is to understand the rights of prisoners and the limitations of power of prison authorities.
New laws mean that immigration detention officers can now confiscate things like mobile phones, iPads and laptops, which were previously allowed in detention centres. If you’re facing time in immigration detention at the end of your sentence, this article gives some practical tips to prepare for the new rules before you go.
The criminal justice system deals with proof, not truth. The police and Crown present allegations; the defence rebuts them; the jury decides whether the Crown has met the required standard of proof. “Truth” and “innocence” are not part of the legal equation.
There are major differences between how offences in prisons are dealt with around Australia. These offences typically range from minor ones, such as keeping an untidy cell, to more serious ones and others that can become criminal charges.
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