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Legal Aid News Issue 17-Initiatives in our regions << Back to index Penrith leads the way into the future Driving for hours, wading through prison security and waiting around for ages could all be a thing of the past shortly if you are a criminal lawyer in our futurist Penrith office. Video-conferencing facilities have been installed in Penrith as part of a partnership with the Department of Corrective Services. Criminal lawyers will use the facilities to communicate with clients in various correctional centres, eliminating actual visits to gaols to take instructions. The facilities may also be used by regional office staff for family law conferencing and advice sessions and are available for use by other public sector agencies. It will be all systems go as soon as some final fine-tuning links Penrith up with every gaol it services. Solicitor-in-Charge, John Mulder is enthusiastic. "This will save so much time and make us more cost-efficient," he says. "We will be able to take instructions at the flick of a switch without compromising the client-lawyer relationship in any way or breaching confidentiality. Clients will in fact be assured of confidentiality by having a camera swing around the room to assure them nobody else is in attendance." Director of Regional and Community Services, Vicki Burge says regional offices are on the threshold of some exciting changes. "The next 12 months will see staff using a range of innovative strategies, including creative partnerships, new technology and investigating new and efficient work practices," she says. John says staff look forward to showcasing the kinds of ideas and initiatives that will usher Legal Aid well into the 21st century. Aside from vide-conferencing, over the next two years Penrith will also participate in two other pilots. One is the Storage and Handling of Exhibits pilot which involves the use of digital and photographic images of exhibits used for evidentiary purposes in defended criminal matters. This will provide all parties with premium quality images of exhibits instead of the faxed copies of black and white photocopies of coloured originals that are currently received. "These images will be able to be tendered, by consent, instead of the actual exhibit being brought to court," John explains. “The benefit to Legal Aid is that we will be better able to assess exhibits by the material that is included in the brief. There is also a saving to other parties in not having to transfer exhibits to and from court. This is an example of a number of agencies coming together to make the system better through the sensible use of new technology.” Another pilot will be the Education and Supervision Program for Perpetrators of Domestic Violence which involves male perpetrators undertaking a 16-week program as part of a condition of a bond. The pilot is being managed by the Violence Against Women’s Specialist Unit, NSW Attorney General’s Department. John believes the program will address the causes of offences of domestic violence, which are otherwise addressed in a far more limited way by courts when they impose sentences following the commission of such offences. The office of the future – John Mulder tests out Penrith's new video-conferencing facility, bringing his client into the room with the mere flick of a switch. Newcastle clients get quicker and better outcomes Regional offices are exploring creative work practices that potentially hold great benefits for clients. In Newcastle for example, legal aid staff have pioneered a close working relationship with Court Liaison Psychiatric Nurse John Sharples. Sharples assesses defendants at the request of the Court, Corrective Service Staff, Legal Aid lawyers and the private profession. However, the majority of Sharples's work is referred from the Legal Aid Local Court Team. Sharples has access to a number of local resources and service providers (including neuropsychological assessment, psychometric testing, drug and alcohol detoxification and rehabilitation programs, counselling services, methadone programs etc) and, with the client's consent, has the networks to obtain access to health records from local doctors and Mental Health Teams/Services. When necessary, the Court Liaison Service also offers the expertise of Doctor Russell Hinton, Specialist Psychiatric Registrar. Sharples and Dr Hinton provide reports to be used in the Local and District Courts to Commission staff on a daily basis. Where previously, obtaining reports has taken up to six weeks, reports can now be provided at short notice, usually within hours. Reports focus on whether a defendant falls within the umbrella of s32 or 33 of the Mental Health Act and, where appropriate, outlines a case managed treatment plan. If a report is not favourable to a s32 or 33 application, it will often support submissions for leniency resulting in clients being placed on a s9 or s12 Bond, a standard condition being "to accept the supervision and direction of the Court Liaison Nurse". Local Court lawyer, Angela Cook, who requests reports daily from Sharples and Doctor Hinton, explains how it works: "If the client is in custody, Sharples or Doctor Hinton visit and assess the client in the police or court cells, usually within an hour of a phone call. A report, usually written (but sometimes oral), is given to the court that day and if a more detailed assessment is required the matter is adjourned to enable the appropriate assessment to be completed". "If the client is not in custody, an appointment is made for the client with Sharples or Doctor Hinton and the matter is adjourned for a period of approximately four weeks." "The scheme, in my view, works particularly well for clients with a dual diagnosis of mental illness and substance abuse. Often mental illness and substance abuse are not mutually exclusive and a case managed treatment plan to address both issues has proved beneficial for clients. The treatment plan usually involves the clients attendance at a program called Double Trouble". Angela agrees the new arrangement means the legal system and the health system are now dealing more appropriately with people who have a mental illness and/or dual diagnosis and find themselves part of the criminal justice system. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Wollongong Legal Aid office has been so impressed with the Court Liaison Nurse at Newcastle that they have spent nearly 18 months lobbying to have a similar position established in the Illawarra. These efforts have borne fruit with the recent announcement by the Illawarra Area health Service that they will fund a court liaison nurse position from January 2002. Richard Noort, a nurse with the Mobile Treatment Team has been employed to establish the position in Wollongong. He spent a week in November with John Sharples in Newcastle to see how the system operates there. Wollongong Legal Aid staff are keen to work with him on his return to ensure the new scheme provides the maximum benefit to local clients. Newcastle's Angela Cook and local court liaison psychiatric nurse, John Sharples, discuss a client report. |
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