National Requirement
This requirement applies to any property of a prisoner received in a prison if –
- The Prison Manager has agreed to store it; or
- It has been placed in the Prison Manager’s charge and the Prison Manager has decided to store it
If any property of a prisoner of a prison is placed in the Prison Manager’s charge, the Prison Manager must decide reasonably promptly whether or not to store the property.
All property that the Prison Manager agrees to store must be labelled, packaged and stored in a safe and secure facility. The container labels can be printed from IOMS.
1. Storage
Where the Prison Manager has agreed to store non-issued property, the Prison Manager must ensure the property is stored in such a way that it:
- does not deteriorate; and
- is not damaged, lost or mislaid; and
- can promptly be identified and retrieved for the purpose of inspection, issue, return, or any other lawful purpose; and
- is to be held in an area with restricted access.
As a normal rule property stored on a prisoner’s behalf should be able to be stored in a storage container measuring approximately 500mm x 400mm x 300mm. Prison Managers may vary this by exception.
Any article of clothing that is to be placed in storage must be in a clean condition before being stored.
2. Removal of Property from Prison
The Prison Manager may require a prisoner, at the prisoner’s own expense, to arrange for any item of the prisoner’s property to be removed from the prison if:
- The prisoner refuses to sign form (B.11.01.F2) that the liability of the Crown for any loss of, or damage to, that item of property is limited to a maximum amount of $400, or
- There is more of the prisoner’s property in the prison than can be reasonably stored there; or
- Its size, shape or nature makes it unsuitable for storing there; or
- For any other reason, the Prison Manager believes that the property cannot reasonably be stored in the prison.
3. Restricted Access to Storage Area
Access to the area of a prison where prisoner property is stored must be restricted to staff members authorised for the purpose by the Prison Manager.
Unsupervised prisoners must not have access to the property store.
4. Labelling
All property is securely and clearly labelled with an IOMS generated label (either a tag or label) displaying the prisoner's name, container identifier, and container location.
5. Small Property
Valuable personal items such as money, jewellery and banking instruments must be stored separately from other items.
Small property is retained in a locked cabinet or safe in a clear plastic bag and is accessed by the prisoner only on approval of the Prison Manager.
6. Liability
The maximum liability of the Crown for any loss of, or damage to, an item of prisoner property is $400.
Where the Prison Manager does not accept responsibility for damage to, or loss of, stored property then the prisoner must be advised of his or her right to seek a review through an Inspector.
Prisoners may insure personal property at their own expense.
7. Checking Property
A prisoner is able to check his/her stored property on three occasions:
- After transfer,
- Within 1 month of release,
- At any time, with the approval of the Prison Manager.
Key Roles and Responsibilities
Prisoner Manager
- Is charged with the responsibility of all stored non-issued prisoner property.
- Is charged with maintaining of storage container quantities and communicating exceptions where necessary.
- Ensures that the designated property storage area is a restricted access area.
- Is charged with the removal of prisoner property at the prisoner's expense, from the facility if required.
- Approves prisoner's access to his/her small property.
- Is responsible for damage to or loss of property stored in the facility. If the Prison Manager fails to accept such responsibility then the prisoner is advised of right to seek review through an Inspector.
- Approves requests from prisoners to check property.
Property Officer
- Stores non-issue prisoner property in safe and secure areas that do not cause the property to deteriorate, get damaged, lost or mislaid.
- Stores non-issue prisoner property in an ordered system that allows for prompt identification and retrieval for inspection, issue, return, or any other lawful purpose. All property must have either an attached name tag or a self-adhesive name label.
- Carries out the removal of property from the Facility as per Prisoner Manager's order.
- Controls access to storage area and locked cabinets.
- Checks that property is clean (if clothing, ensure it is laundered before storing).
- Checks for obvious damage or missing components and ensure condition is recorded in register.
