Criminal Lawyers Association of the NT warn of impending Covid ‘crisis’ in Territory prisons

Lawyers has written to Corrections warning of a ‘potential crisis’ facing prisoners due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

THE Criminal Lawyers Association of the NT has written to Acting Corrections Commissioner, David Thompson, warning of a “potential crisis” facing prisoners due to the Territory’s Covid-19 outbreak.

CLANT president Chrissy McConnel said court cases were regularly brought to a screeching halt when prisoners were categorised as “Covid red” or placed into isolation “for undetermined periods of time, which is unacceptable and unsustainable”.

“CLANT understands that fresh custodies in Darwin are often transferred directly to the prison and placed in isolation for a period of time prior to being given access to a lawyer or appearing in court,” she said.

“How long that is, is also unclear and does not appear to be being communicated to the court or legal representatives and on that basis, potentially the prisoners themselves.”

Ms McConnel said the situation left judges with no alternative but to adjourn proceedings in the prisoner’s absence, “most likely without their knowledge, to an uncertain date in the future in the hope that they will be able to appear at that time”.

CLANT says prisoners are facing ‘unacceptable’ delays in reaching court.

“This also means that people are being denied the opportunity to have bail applications heard which if successful would obviate the need for that person to enter the prison system at all,” she said.

“It is important to remember also, that some of these people may have not been through the criminal justice process previously. They may not speak English.

“They may be frightened and confused about what will happen to them and if they are not being given immediate access to clear information about processes or legal representation, which they are entitled to, those factors are magnified.”

A spokeswoman for Corrections said prisoners who tested positive were isolated from the general population and “receive the appropriate care and supervision”.

“Due to the high vaccination rates of all prisoners in NT custodial facilities and the implementation of comprehensive infection control measures approved by the CHO and Department of Health, the majority of prisoners who test positive to Covid-19 are reporting either zero or mild symptoms,” she said.

“NT Correctional Services has a number of processes in place so prisoners can still access justice services including RAT testing prior to court appearances and video or audio conferencing.

“However, at times there may be some delays if a prisoner has tested positive and is in medically supervised isolation.”

New Corrections Commissioner, Matthew Varley, took over from Mr Thompson following his appointment on Wednesday but CLANT is still yet to receive a response from either.