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SA Ombudsman Defends iExpress
Wayne Lines, the South Australian ombudsman, has found JA to be a multipurpose advocacy organisation. Therefore, the banning of South Australian prisoners communication to JA and thus their access to iExpress has been found to be “unreasonable”. The Chief Executive and Minister for Correctional Services have been notified. JA is now in dialogue. Currently all Australian states and territories except SA have accepted the role of iExpress.
For more information view here.
Overview
Justice Action is proud to introduce iExpress, the world’s first prisoner webpage and interactive email system aimed at empowering people in prisons and forensic hospitals, bringing them into the digital world, and reducing the divide and social exclusion that currently exists. They will now have the opportunity to access an exciting new channel of self-expression and communication, free of charge. iExpress has been acknowledged by Huffington Post, a Pulitzer Prize winner and the world’s most popular blog.
iExpress generates a personalised webpage, which allows people in prisons and hospitals to make a personal statement that addresses their current feelings and attitudes. This is in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which protects the rights of expression and personal opinion under articles 2, 3, 12, 18, 19, 22 and 27.
The iExpress email service allows people in prisons and hospitals to send and receive email messages to and from members of the general community.
iExpress has the support of victims’ groups and provides a platform for restorative justice and reconciliation with the community. Justice Action will not publish webpages including anything defamatory, aggressive or showing ill will.
Each of these services is under the direct control of the Justice Action team, who actively review content to ensure that the service fulfills the aims of iExpress.
iExpress complies with Commonwealth and State legislation, also under s 51(v) of the Australian Constitution, which relates to communication powers. Legal analysis is accessed here.
The Victorian challenge to iExpress’s existence provided an opportunity to secure it. Their letter is here Our response is here. See media coverage here. It will remain a responsible refuge for all people in custody nationally and internationally, and it cannot be removed.
iExpress can be accessed here.
Media Attention
The safe and easy path for the Australian media and governments is to adopt a ‘tough-on – crime’ position. For the media, sensationalist crime reports can engage readers/viewers and enrich the media conglomerate by playing on the public’s fear of crime, even when crime rates are actually falling. For governments, a ‘tough-on-crime’ stance can make them appear strong and determined to stamp out crime. Any party that is concerned about criminal justice reform, rehabilitating/diverting prisoners and addressing the root causes of crime runs the risk of being labelled by their opposition and the media as ‘soft-on-crime’, ‘easy on criminals’, and responsible for any high-profile crime that happens to take place. It takes a courageous political party to pursue reform measures that actually reduce recidivism and make society safer for the public. Sometimes it takes bi-partisan support for reforms and fair reporting by the media to achieve powerful criminal justice reforms. One example was the case of Norway. This country once had high incarceration and recidivism rates like Australia. However, both sides of politics were inspired by breakthroughs in restorative justice in the 1970s. They and the media agreed to tone down the rhetoric and point-scoring and instead undertake radical criminal justice reforms. The results were amazing, with real rehabilitation of prisoners and drastically reduced recidivism. Another example, is the bipartisan piece of legislation, the 2018 First Step Act in the US. This Act was a response to the country’s mass incarceration and the excesses of the War on Drugs, introducing improved conditions in federal prisons, reforms to sentencing laws, reduced mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenders and better access to training and rehabilitation programs
Sadly, Australia has all-too-often been operating in anti-reform mode with sensationalist media reports and politicians failing to reform the criminal justice system for fear of being labelled weak and ‘soft on crime.’ A case in point was the way in which the hugely innovative and beneficial iExpress initiative was received by the Australian media.
iExpress initiative was has received media attention from ‘Today’, ‘The Sydney Morning Herald’, and from ‘Herald Sun’. The ‘Herald Sun’ dubs iExpress as “Facebook for prisoners” and Chris Urquhart states that “some profiles read like personal ads”.
The article from ‘Today’ can be found here.
‘Today’ contacted the Corrective Services Department of each state and territory in regards to iExpress. Their responses were unanimous. Each Department found that the iExpress website does not constitute a breach under any policies and procedures as it is conducted by an independent third party.
Their full statements are available to view here.