A man was unlawfully kept in a South Australian prison for months after his release date due to a “systems error”, and was not told about this for five years, an Ombudsman investigation has found.
The SA Ombudsman released a summary statement of its investigation into the incident in late July, and found that the Department for Correctional Services had breached the law and international human rights standards by holding the man in prison far beyond the end of his sentence.
The state government has said it will not provide compensation to the man, despite the Ombudsman recommending it do so.
The Ombudsman found that due to a system error, staff at the prison were not told when his sentence had ended, and that he was released months later when the mistake was identified.
The man was only told that he had been unlawfully kept in prison for several months after the Ombudsman began investigating the matter five years later and told the Department to do so.
In a letter to the impacted man, the Department did not apologise or clearly explain that he may have a legal basis to make a claim against the state of South Australia, the Ombudsman said, with the onus placed on him to seek compensation.
The delay in telling the man what had happened was “serious and unacceptable”, the Ombudsman said.
“The seriousness of the Department’s error was exacerbated by the fact that the Department knew it had held the prisoner in error and failed to provide timely advice of this fact, offer an apology or make him aware of the compensation options available to him,” the Ombudsman report said.
The SA Ombudsman recommended that the Department review its systems across all of its prisons to make sure this does happen again, and implement a policy stating that if this happens again, the person is told as soon as possible and it is made clear that they are eligible for a pay-out.
The Ombudsman also recommended that the Department consider making an ex-gratia payment – a voluntary payment without admitting legal liability – to the man.
The Department agreed to the first two recommendations but has rejected the latter.
“Since this incident occurred six years ago, the Department and G4S have implemented new processes to manage prisoner release dates,” a spokesperson for the SA Department for Corrections told About Time.
“The government respectfully disagrees with the Ombudsman’s request to pay compensation.”
The Department breached the Correctional Services Act with the error, and the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, the Ombudsman found.
“When agencies make mistakes, particularly where individuals’ rights are infringed, they should take action to remedy those errors,” it said.
“This includes amending processes or systems to ensure the mistake is not repeated and informing those who are impacted.
“It is not acceptable to place the burden on individuals whose rights have been infringed to identify the error and appropriate redress.”
