NCJ Number
97207
Date Published
1984
Length
73 pages
Annotation
To determine the acceptability of persons sentenced to prison by the Australian Capital Territory (A.C.T.) serving their sentences in prisons in New South Wales (N.S.W.), 34 prisoners in 8 different N.S.W. prisons and 16 family members were interviewed from July 30 to August 7, 1984.
Abstract
The survey sought to learn whether prisoners and family members experienced particular difficulties in relation to family ties and welfare support. Fewer than 40 percent of the prisoners received visits monthly or more often. Over half of the prisoners indicated that problems of cost and distance limited the frequency of visits. Every prisoner supported construction of a prison in the A.C.T. to facilitate visiting and maintaining contact with families. Prisoners' families expressed considerable concern about the costs and time required for visiting their relatives in prison; none had received assitance with these costs. They almost unanimously supported the idea of a prison in the A.C.T. This survey report includes a review of the statistical trends in the use of imprisonment in the A.C.T. and a tentative estimate of the need for adult custodial accommodation. The report concludes that the present arrangement of sending A.C.T. prisoners to N.S.W. prisons causes significant hardship to prisoners and their families. Appendixes contain the prisoners' and the families' interview schedules and detailed responses of prisoners and family members.