GAOLS AND CORONA VIRUSTo help stop the spread of the Corona virus consideration is now being given to reducing the number of people in gaol.News reports suggest that a primary fcus may be on those serving long-term sentences for the most serious crimes.
Perhaps more attention should be given to those with less serious offences .These form the bulk of the gaol population.
t Aside from the greater numbers ,there is not the same potential for placing the community at risk and alienating community opinion. Not all long-term prisoners would pose a threat in the community*. But there are some who would .
It is possible for prisoners who committed the most serious of offences to retain their underlying motivations
while 'gliding through the system ' and gaining support from custodial staff for keeping younger prisoners in line .

For prisoners whose offences are less serious. the community may be better served by their early release on conditional liberty.The main aim of that would be to give them opportunities for personal development and to give them support . In probation and parole . I was involved as a co-facilitator In groups conducted for just released parolees .These groups worked very well ,with most participants benefiting from them. The group focus was on goal setting and on the appropriate expression of emotions. One third of group participants had never given expression to their emotions
and their eyes widened when they saw that there was a vocabulary for doing that.F

John Maher
B.A Dip.Crim.



Author's background : 35 years in the Probation and Parole Service .

ADDRESS : 15 Cragside Place , Glenhaven 2156
email : johnmaher14@hotmail.com
Phone :02 9634 7229

7 April 2020


07/04/2020, 08:34:40

Theoretically speaking a prison provides one of the easiest environments to manage during a viral outbreak. Why? Because:
1) By the very nature of a prison the prisoners are already isolated from the rest of the community with limited contacted to those outside.
2) It is easy to restrict those inside from interacting or to isolate them from others inside. Eg: It is easy to partition the population into those who are infected and those who aren't.
3) You can effortlessly direct/order them to do what you want/need them to do
4) You don't have to give much concern about the public image of your actions. For example you can manage the prisoners without having to worry about them having much kick-back by way of public/social media.
5) It is easy to manage and track their movements to determine who they have interacted with.
5) It is easy to monitor the prevalence of the virus within the population.
6) A prison is a very controlled environment which makes cleaning/disinfecting them easier than other environments.

The China virus isn't bad enough. Let the cons out. And this bloke gives his contact details! Gawd almighty.

I welcome any initiative to reduce the number of people in prison - rain or shine, Corona or otherwise.

Locking up people in prison is an horrific act of cruelty - how can any human do such a gruesome thing to others?

The only justification for locking people up is when they pose a reasonable and unacceptable PRESENT danger to others and no other remedies are possible. Even then, those locked up should be allowed the most humane conditions possible and only be restricted to the extent that is necessary to prevent them from harming others. And even then, prisoners should always be allowed the option of death instead, if so they choose.

Whence this sick idea as if people have a right to punish each other? Should punishment be necessary, leave it up to God, this deliberate infliction of terrible pain on others is just so sick, so sick.

Locking up people in prison is an horrific act of cruelty
Yuyutsu,
By far not as cruel as being robbed or assaulted for no reason !
To ignore that pain & loss inflicted on victims is just so sick, so sick !

Dear Individual,

Why compare one pain with another - no pain is to be ignored, but one pain cannot cure another.

Being robbed or assaulted is indeed very unpleasant, but is never for no reason - only the reason can be hidden and necessarily be something similar or equivalent that the "victim" has caused in the past, whether recently or long time ago.

Revenge is senseless: when one causes pain to another, whatever be the reason, they incur the demerit-karma which in time will fructify in the form of further pain to the revenger. How primitive and what a foolish thing to do!