1.1 Contents
- Overview
- General Requirements
- Voluntary Protective Custody
- Directed Protective Custody
- Segregation for the Purpose of Security, Good Order, or Safety
- Segregation for the Purpose of Medical Oversight
- Revocation of Segregation Directions
- Review of Decisions
Segregation National System Approval Forms:
- Voluntary Protective Custody of a Prisoner
- Initial Directed Protective Custody of a Prisoner
- Directed Protective Custody to Continue in Force Beyond 14 Days up to a Maximum Period of Three Months
- Directed Protective Custody to Continue in Force Beyond Three Months
- Initial Segregation for the Purpose of Security, Good, Order or Safety
- Segregation for Security, Good Order or Safety to Continue in Force Beyond 14 Days and Extensions
- Segregation for the Purpose of Medical Oversight
- Revocation of Segregation Direction
Segregation National System Forms for Prisoners:
- Prison Manager’s Notification to the Prisoner of the Prisoner’s Placement on Segregation or Continuation of Segregation
- Confirmation of Minimum Entitlements for a Prisoner who is on Segregation
1.2 Purpose
Guideline
The purpose of this National System is to:
- Outline the provisions for segregating prisoners.
- Detail the statutory purposes of segregation.
- Detail the procedures to approve segregation.
- Detail the documentation and reporting requirements for segregation.
This National System outlines the legislative provisions on segregation under the Corrections Act 2004 and Corrections Regulations 2005 and provides the Chief Executive’s guidelines, in accordance with section 196(1)(a) of the Corrections Act 2004, for the exercise of the powers under these provisions.
1.3 Segregation defined
Section 57
Segregation is the restriction or denial of a prisoner’s opportunity to associate with other prisoners in accordance with sections 58 to 60 of the Corrections Act 2004.
1.4 Authority to approve segregation
Sections 58-60 and Regs. 53-64
Directions to segregate prisoners are made in accordance with sections 58, 59, and 60 of the Corrections Act 2004 and regulations 53 to 64 of the Corrections Regulations 2005, on which this National System is based.
If there is any perceived conflict between this National System and the Corrections Act 2004 or the Corrections Regulations 2005 this is to be reported to the Manager Planning, Standards and Monitoring, Corporate Management.
Where the perceived conflict relates to an operational decision it is to be immediately reported to the Regional Manager or Regional Operations Manager PPS (or to the person exercising the Chief Executive’s delegation if the Regional Manager or Regional Operations Manager PPS is unavailable) for direction.
1.5 Meaning of term ‘day’
Throughout this National System, where ‘day’ or ‘days’ is used it means calendar day or days, unless specifically nominated as working days.
1.6 Segregation directions and recommendations must be evidence-based
Evidence-based means that both the direction and the supporting recommendations must be based on written evidence verifying the Prison Manager’s (or his / her authorised delegate’s) concern(s) about the risk posed by the prisoner. Written evidence may include, without limitation:
- Incident reports
- Misconduct reports where the prisoner has been found guilty of an offence under the Corrections Act 2004
- Outstanding charges under any other Act as a consequence of the prisoner’s behaviour whilst in prison
- Sentence management file notes
- Crime Prevention Information Reports (CPIR). These reports or parts of these reports may be withheld from the prisoner where there is justification under the Privacy Act 1993 or Official Information Act 1982. The prisoner is to be informed (on the Prison Manager’s Notification to the Prisoner of the Prisoner’s Placement on Segregation or Continuation of Segregation form) that the withheld documents exist and are being withheld and/or parts of the document(s) are being withheld, as the case may be, under the relevant provisions of these Acts (unless neither confirming nor denying their existence is justified under section 10 of the OIA or section 32 of the Privacy Act).
- Any other information considered relevant to the direction for segregation.
1.7 Delegations
This National System should be read in conjunction with the Chief Executive Delegated Authorities for Prisoner Management to Persons Holding Staff Positions within Public Prison Service and the Prison Manager Delegated Authorities for Prisoner Management to Staff Positions at the applicable prison.
Note that a medical officer cannot delegate to any other health professional the medical officer’s power under section 60(1) of the Act to recommend that a prisoner’s ability to associate with other prisoners be restricted or denied for the purpose of medical oversight, nor can a medical officer delegate the power to recommend the continuation of an existing direction for the purpose of medical oversight.
