Changes to prisoner court appearances to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread

Prisoner appearances in court have changed this week in a bid to prevent the spread of COVID-19 with Courts reducing the number of matters being heard, and the number of prisoners appearing in person.

As at 23 March, the following measures are in effect:

• If a prisoner has a lawyer, their appearance will be excused.
• If a prisoner does not have a lawyer, they will appear by video link.
• The Courts will only be hearing urgent matters.
• There will be no new jury trials starting until further notice. Prisoners can apply for a Judge alone trial.

Assistant Commissioner, Specialist Operations Samantha Newman said this measure had come into effect in response to an unprecedented circumstance.

“We are focused on the safety and security of our officers and the prison population, and these measures have been developed in collaboration with the Courts and Queensland Health with this in mind,” said Assistant Commissioner Newman.

“This step is being taken to protect the health of our officers and the people in our care, as well as all of the people who interact with the courts system on a daily basis.

Sentence Management Services are working to ensure eligible prisoners are aware of processes through which they may make an application for bail and/or request via their legal representatives to have their matters prioritised for consideration by the court.

“Court appearances can be quite a stressful and anxious time for prisoners, and I’d like to thank the dedicated Sentence Management teams who are working to ensure their enquiries concerning outstanding court dates are resolved.

“As this is a rapidly changing environment, we will continue to work with Queensland Health and the Courts to ensure our procedures reflect the most up-to-date information,” said Assistant Commissioner Newman.