❓ Mr. Hyde questions the Minister for Corrective Services regarding advice received on the validity of age-determining processes for prisoners, revealing a prior incorrect statement and raising concerns about the reliability of bone-density testing.
AnsweredQoN 5781Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
In relation to the Minister’s denial in Question on Notice No. 5151 that the Minister and his Department have received no advice regarding the validity of bone-testing, triple-testing, or any other age determining processes regarding Indonesian or other prisoners, I ask:
(a) since the election of the Barnett Government, has the Minister, or any Minister for Corrective Services or the Department received advice from the Inspector of Custodial Services, or any other sources, including reports by Independent Prison Visitors, on the validity of bone-testing, triple-testing, or any other age determining processes?
(a) since the election of the Barnett Government, has the Minister, or any Minister for Corrective Services or the Department received advice from the Inspector of Custodial Services, or any other sources, including reports by Independent Prison Visitors, on the validity of bone-testing, triple-testing, or any other age determining processes?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
9 August 2011
Responded by
Minister for Corrective Services
Response time
48 days
(a) The response to Legislative Assembly question on notice 5151 was incorrect. Records have been located which indicate that since late 2010 concerns from a variety of sources regarding the validity of bone-density testing have been received by the Department of Corrective Services (DCS). Specifically, the Inspector of Custodial Services wrote to the DCS on 22 November 2010 expressing his concern as to the risks posed by the apparent uncertainty of bone-density testing, citing advice he had received from experts from the University of Western Australia. This concern was also noted by an Independent Prison Visitors Report provided in relation to Albany Regional Prison for the month of April 2011.
In response to the Inspector's concerns, and given that the DCS is bound by documentation supplied by Federal authorities, the Commissioner DCS sought and received formal advice from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on the validity of the testing. AFP advice was that wrist x-ray results have been successfully relied upon in a number of Commonwealth prosecutions, with only one instance known to have been successfully challenged in relation to age determination concerns.
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In response to the Inspector's concerns, and given that the DCS is bound by documentation supplied by Federal authorities, the Commissioner DCS sought and received formal advice from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on the validity of the testing. AFP advice was that wrist x-ray results have been successfully relied upon in a number of Commonwealth prosecutions, with only one instance known to have been successfully challenged in relation to age determination concerns.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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