Search

Placeholder Content Image

The music program rehabilitating inmates

<p dir="ltr">While a lot of prison inmates are not given the luxuries of life outside jail, one rehabilitation program is giving inmates one of life’s greatest pleasures: music. </p> <p dir="ltr">For Oli Firth, who was sent to Broken Hill Correctional Centre on drug-related offences, the Songbirds program changed his life.</p> <p dir="ltr">"[Music] was a real beacon of light for me. It was the one thing that carried me through," he told ABC<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/songbirds:-rehabilitation-and-music-behind-bars/13934620"> RN's Life Matters</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was the toughest time in my life.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The director of the Songbirds program, musician Murray Cook, has played with bands such as Midnight Oil, Mental as Anything and Mixed Relations.</p> <p dir="ltr">But for more than 20 years, Mr Cook has run music classes in different NSW prisons, including a stint as a music teacher in the psych ward of Sydney's Long Bay Correctional Centre.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Songbirds program, a project of the non-profit <a href="https://www.crcnsw.org.au/">Community Restorative Centre</a>, brings music and other art forms into prisons, with a focus on songwriting as a means of rehabilitation. </p> <p dir="ltr">"If you're in jail, it's a jungle. It really is. I'd hate to go there," Mr Cook says.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Because if you show any emotion, if you let on that you really love your daughter or something like that, [other prisoners] can use that against you. That's a bargaining chip for them to stand over you and get money — threaten to kill your kids, that sort of stuff."</p> <p dir="ltr">But he says, "Somehow within the context of a song, it's OK to say stuff like that, to say something like, 'I love my partner.'"</p> <p dir="ltr">As a way of dealing with feelings they believe they can’t vocalise, Mr Cook tries to get inmates to write about their feelings and experiences. </p> <p dir="ltr">However, he admits this process isn’t always straightforward. </p> <p dir="ltr">In the first session of a songwriting class, he talks about tolerance, about "not putting anyone else down, [not] being too critical".</p> <p dir="ltr">"[I also] always say in the first workshop, 'Look, your lives are really valuable … your music is so valuable.'"</p> <p dir="ltr">He says the classes can be made up of a fairly diverse group, which makes for an accepting and tolerant environment.</p> <p dir="ltr">"When you look at a group, you've got Islanders, Kooris, Middle Eastern people, bikies … They'd probably kill each other in the yard, as they tend to segregate into their own groups," Mr Cook says.</p> <p dir="ltr">"[But soon] you see a Koori guy over there working with an Asian guy and a bikie, trying to write a song, it's fantastic."</p> <p dir="ltr">It’s then over to the prisoners to perfect their songs and, if they choose, perform them for other inmates.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Once they've got it out and sung it, it's very cathartic. Just to know that somebody's listening to their story," Mr Cook says.</p> <p dir="ltr">If the inmates choose, Mr Cook helps them record their new tracks, which have been released on a series of Songbird albums over the years. </p> <p dir="ltr">"Like I always say to people in jail, music is a great way of letting off steam without hurting anyone … [But] I think the core of this is the personal transformation that comes through music," Mr Cook says.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Music

Placeholder Content Image

If nonviolent inmates aren’t released for COVID, the nation will pay

<p>Right before the Berejiklian government closed down parliament until mid-September due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bills/Pages/bill-details.aspx?pk=3741">passed a law</a> that allows for the early release of <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/a-new-trial-in-lithgow-jail-to-cut-prison-crime/">prison inmates</a> on parole based on a number of factors including offence, age, health and vulnerability.</p> <p>Although, <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/the-nsw-governments-new-injustice-laws-more-power-to-police-and-prosecutors/">there are questions</a> as to whether these provisions apply to prisoners on remand, who make up a third of NSW’s over <a href="https://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Pages/bocsar_custody_stats/bocsar_custody_stats.aspx">13,000 inmates</a>. Indeed, some of these remandees will go on to be found innocent.</p> <p>As he was introducing the <a href="https://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Pages/bocsar_custody_stats/bocsar_custody_stats.aspx">emergency powers bill</a>, attorney general Mark Speakman made clear that this law was one that the state government hopes it “will never have to use” – which hardly screams early release.</p> <p>At 3 pm on 29 March, there were <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert/coronavirus-covid-19-current-situation-and-case-numbers">3,966 confirmed cases</a> of the coronavirus in this country, and 16 people had died as a result of the disease. However, the number of cases is set to dramatically increase in the coming weeks due to the way viruses <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-26/coronavirus-covid19-global-spread-data-explained/12089028">exponentially spread</a>.</p> <p>So, if an outbreak of COVID-19 occurs at one of Australia’s numerous correctional centres, it’s likely to pass dramatically throughout the facility. And as prison staff will be leaving gaols after every shift, there’s the potential for detention-related infections to spread into the community.</p> <p>New York’s notorious Rikers Island prison turned up <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/22/coronavirus-outbreak-new-york-city-jails-rikers-island">38 cases of COVID</a> over the week ending on 23 March. And twelve of those affected were staff. While, as of Sunday, Iran – one of the hardest hit countries on the planet – had released <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/iran-temporarily-frees-100-000-prisoners-to-limit-spread-of-coronavirus-120032901200_1.html">100,000 inmates</a> to prevent greater disease outbreaks.</p> <p><strong>Inside distancing is impossible</strong></p> <p>“In gaols, the COVID-19 virus will likely multiply like rampant bacteria in a Petri jar,” said <a href="https://www.cla.asn.au/News/#gsc.tab=0">Civil Liberties Australia (CLA)</a> CEO Bill Rowlings. “If the virus gets into a gaol, the closeness of prisoners will mean it’s impossible to contain the spread.”</p> <p>The Health Department has advised practising the key prevention measure known as <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020/03/coronavirus-covid-19-information-on-social-distancing_4.pdf">social distancing</a>. It includes staying more than 1.5 metres away from other people to ensure that the virus is not passed on. But, as Rowlings points out, this is simply not possible behind bars.</p> <p>“At mealtimes, and in line-ups for the daily counts or for medicine dispensing, there’s no way people could be 1.5 metres apart. There just isn’t room,” he told Sydney Criminal Lawyers. “Prisoners are among the Australians most vulnerable to a virus.”</p> <p>Queensland Corrective Services acting deputy commissioner Peter Shaddock <a href="https://corrections.qld.gov.au/improving-prison-safety-through-better-health/">recently said pre-COVID</a> that “prisoner health is a matter of public health”. And he went on to explain that “prisoners are some of the most disadvantaged and sickest members of our communities”.</p> <p>“Another consideration,” Mr Rowlings added, “is that about a third of people in gaol are on remand. That is, they’re not even guilty, but have been charged and are awaiting their day in court. Many of them could, and some should, be out on bail.”</p> <p><strong>An innocent elderly inmate</strong></p> <p>Susan Neill-Fraser is a wheelchair-bound elderly inmate locked up for a crime she didn’t commit. The mother-of-two has been incarcerated in a Tasmanian prison since 2009, when she was remanded over the murder of her partner. And she’s now serving a 23 year sentence.</p> <p>Ms Neill-Fraser’s conviction has always been disputed. And <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/free-susan-neill-fraser-an-innocent-woman-behind-bars/">in March last year</a>, 60 minutes presented a report involving an eyewitness recollecting that her male companion brutally murdered Bob Chappell. The young woman had been too scared to reveal this in the past.</p> <p>Rowlings explained that then Tasmanian DPP Tim Ellis told the jury Neill-Fraser’s DNA was found on a rubber glove presumably used to clean up the crime scene. However, he later apologised, admitting it had been someone else’s DNA.</p> <p>“No-one believes she would ‘re’-offend, even people who still think she’s guilty,” said CLA president Dr Kristine Klugman. “It’s time for some common sense compassion from the Tasmanian government in the case of this woman who has been sorely tried over the past decade.”</p> <p><strong>Prevent Aboriginal deaths in custody</strong></p> <p>The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) <a href="http://www.natsils.org.au/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=NBF0S7YQGcc%3d&amp;portalid=8">released a statement</a> on 23 March, calling on Scott Morrison to release First Nations prisoners from correctional facilities, “as people in prison are extremely vulnerable to COVID-19”.</p> <p>According to the ABS, there were <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4512.0">42,799 adults</a> being incarcerated in Australian facilities last December, and of these, 11,776 were Indigenous. This means that while First Nations people make up less than 3 percent of the general populace, they account for 29 percent of those inside.</p> <p>NATSILS is calling for the immediate release of remandees, “women who are victims of family violence and sentenced for lesser offences like fines and public order offences”, young people and those most at risk from COVID-19, like the elderly and people with health conditions.</p> <p>The national peak body further stated that lockdowns and solitary confinement should be avoided, especially in the case of young people. And they raised concerns about First Nations inmates being completely cut off from friends and family.</p> <p><strong>Risking overall prevention</strong></p> <p>Queensland Corrective Services moved to stage two pandemic restrictions <a href="https://corrections.qld.gov.au/pandemic-visits-to-queensland-prisons-cease/">on 23 March</a>, meaning all personal visits are prohibited. But, as Rowlings points out, if it decides to impose stage four restrictions it will mean complete lockdown, with no time out of cells.</p> <p>The long-term civil liberties advocate described these extreme restrictions as “basically locking up prisoners and letting any virus foment”. While the QCS further set out that the stage four scenario is an option of last resort, however it is “prepared for the eventuality”.</p> <p>Meanwhile the World Health Organisation <a href="http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-determinants/prisons-and-health/news/news/2020/3/preventing-covid-19-outbreak-in-prisons-a-challenging-but-essential-task-for-authorities">released a guidance</a> last week on dealing with the coronavirus in prisons, which explains that those detained within these closed environments are particularly vulnerable to the disease and it amplifies the risks for those on the outside.</p> <p>“The global effort to tackle the spread of disease may fail without proper attention to infection control measures within prisons,” the WHO <a href="http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-determinants/prisons-and-health/news/news/2020/3/preventing-covid-19-outbreak-in-prisons-a-challenging-but-essential-task-for-authorities">ominously warned</a>.</p> <p><em>Written by Paul Gregoire. Republished with permission of <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/if-nonviolent-inmates-arent-released-for-covid-the-nation-will-pay/">The Conversation.</a> </em></p>

Travel Tips

Our Partners

Over 60

© Copyright 2024 OverSixty.All Rights Reserved.