Australian Capital Territory
Corrections Management (Management of Prisoners in the Crisis Support Unit) Policy 2009
Notifiable instrument NI2009-135
made under the  
Corrections Management Act 2007, section 14(1) (Corrections policies and operating procedures) 

1	Name of instrument
This instrument is the Corrections Management (Management of Prisoners in the Crisis Support Unit) Policy 2009.
2	Commencement
This instrument commences on the day after it is notified.
3	Policy
I make the

Management of Prisoners in the Crisis Support Unit policy

attached to this instrument, to facilitate the effective and efficient management of correctional services.

James Ryan
Executive Director 
ACT Corrective Services
     25 March 2009

Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC)

Management of Prisoners in the 
Crisis Support Unit Policy

Purpose
Authority
Policy
Principles
Accommodation and case management
Observation regime
Unit rules
Buy-ups
Forms/Templates
Related Policies and Procedures

Purpose
To outline the policy to ensure the safe and effective management of prisoners accommodated in the Crisis Support Unit (CSU). 

Authority
Legislation
Corrections Management Act 2007, section 14
Human Rights Act 2004

Policy
Principles
The CSU will be used to accommodate prisoners who have engaged in suicide or self-harming behaviour or who have been assessed as being ‘at risk’ in accordance with the Prisoner at Risk Policy and Procedure.

Prisoners at risk of harm to others, as the result of a mental illness, may also be accommodated in the CSU.

The CSU is not designed to accommodate prisoners on a long-term basis. The CSU is to be used to house prisoners who may be going through an acute psychological episode. 

Accommodation and case management
A prisoner’s admission into the CSU will be initiated by corrections officers, Corrections Health or Mental Health staff. This will be dependant on the prisoner’s ability to cope in the general population, the level of risk they pose to themselves and/or others, and whether they respond to ‘out patient’ treatment. 

Prisoners will be admitted to CSU following an initial assessment of risk by Forensic Mental Health staff. However the decision to admit a prisoner to the CSU rests with the CSU manager, during normal working hours. Any admission occurring outside the working hours of Forensic Mental health staff will be reviewed by Forensic Mental health staff at the first available opportunity. Any admission made or confirmed in the absence of the CSU manager will be reviewed by the CSU manager at the first available opportunity.

The length of time that a prisoner is accommodated in the CSU will be dependent upon how they respond to treatment. The objective of the admission to the CSU is to stabilise the prisoner and return them to the general prisoner population. This will be achieved by development of a treatment plan for the prisoner’s stay in CSU, and any “outpatient” follow-up after their discharge from the CSU. This will assist prisoners in managing their own mental health in prison, in preparation for their release into the community. On their return to the general prison population, prisoners will be able to access ‘out patient’ treatment through the health centre within the AMC.

All prisoners in the CSU will be case managed in the same way that other prisoners in the AMC are. Consideration will also be given to suspending the prisoner’s Rehabilitation Plan for the duration of their accommodation in the CSU. This decision will be made between the prisoner’s case manager, the CSU manager and the CO3 and will be dependant on the prisoner’s coping skills. 

The CSU manager, or in their absence Forensic Mental Health staff, will brief corrections staff working in the CSU on the requirements for managing the individual prisoners in the unit. These briefings are to be documented and will be used in the handover between corrections officers. 

All prisoners accommodated in the CSU will have a treatment plan, which will be created by the CSU manager. In the absence of the CSU manager, treatment plans will be developed by Forensic Mental Health staff conducting the initial risk assessment. 

The CSU Manager will be responsible for the development, implementation, and maintenance of individual treatment plans for all prisoners in the CSU, in consultation with the prisoner’s case manager and other relevant parties. The interventions contained in the treatment plan may be delivered by the CSU manager, correctional officers in the CSU, the prisoner’s case manager, Forensic Mental Health or Corrections Health staff, or programs staff

Any treatment plans developed in the absence of the CSU manager will be reviewed by the CSU manager at the next available opportunity, and amended as necessary, in consultation with Forensic Mental Health staff and other relevant parties.

A treatment plan will include whether the prisoner will remain engaged in their usual regime activities – visits, employment, education, offending behaviour programmes, health programmes – while in the CSU, and how this ongoing engagement will be facilitated. Treatment plans will also outline the prisoner’s routine within the CSU. Treatment plans will be negotiated between the CSU manager, the prisoner and other relevant parties, with CSU manager finalising the plan. On initial admission to the CSU a brief, interim treatment plan may be developed by staff involved in the admission. 

When a prisoner is released from the CSU, the CSU file will be stored and reopened in the event that a prisoner is readmitted to the CSU. Relevant documents may be copied for other files within the prison with the prisoner’s consent, or without their consent where there are strong reasons for doing so.

Special considerations will be given to the accommodation in the CSU of female prisoners, for ensure their safety. 

Special considerations will be given to the accommodation in the CSU of any vulnerable prisoner. 

Observation regime
All prisoners in the CSU will be subject to an observation regime in accordance with the Prisoner at Risk Policy and Procedure.  

Unit rules
Upon entry to the CSU, all prisoners will be searched in accordance with the Searching Policy and Procedure and placed in their allocated cells. 

Corrections officers will consult with the CSU manager regarding the issue of clothing, bedding, and recreation equipment such as writing materials and books, and what personal items from a prisoner’s usual prison accommodation may be permitted in the CSU. 

Prisoners are required to shower on a daily basis. 

Bedding/ clothing is to be laundered on a regular basis.

These rules and requirements will be detailed in each prisoner’s treatment plan.

Buy-ups
Prisoners in the CSU will have access to buy-ups from the CSU Buy-up List. On the recommendation of correctional officers, Forensic Mental Health of the CSU Manager and for the prisoner’s safety or the safety of others, some items may be prohibited in the CSU for individual prisoners. Such prohibitions will be detailed in the prisoner’s treatment plan 

Forms/Templates
CSU Buy-up list

Related Policies and Procedures
Prisoner at Risk (PAR) Policy
Prisoner at Risk (PAR) Procedures
Buy-ups Policy