Visits from police officers
Police officers can visit you in prison, whether you are serving a sentence or on remand. This comes from section 41 of the Corrections Act 1986 (Vic).
Police can visit between 8.30am and 3.30pm Monday to Friday, or another time if it’s agreed by the General Manager.
Why would a police officer visit me in prison?
Police officers can visit you in prison if they want to:
- Interview you about an alleged offence that happened outside prison
- Investigate an alleged offence that happened inside prison
- Serve court documents on you, like an intervention order
- Do a forensic procedure, like taking a DNA sample
What happens if a police officer wants to visit me in prison?
Police need approval from Corrections Victoria to visit you in prison. If they are interviewing you about an offence outside prison, serving court documents on you or taking a forensic sample, they must get a court order first.
If a police officer visits you in prison, the prison must make sure that other people in your prison don’t know you are speaking to the police.
You should be put in a confidential interview room without prison staff for a police visit. You can ask for a prison officer to be present if you want, or for them to be able to see you but not hear the conversation. This comes from section 41(5) of the Corrections Act 1986 (Vic).
What are my rights during a police visit?
You have important rights when police visit you in prison. These come from section 41 of Corrections Act 1986 (Vic).
If a police officer wants to visit you in prison, you have the right to:
- Refuse the visit
- Get legal advice before a police interview
- Refuse to answer any of the police’s questions during the visit
You always have the right to get legal advice before answering any questions in a police interview. The police must ask if you want to speak to a lawyer before they start an interview. If you tell them you do want to speak to a lawyer, they must organise one for you.
Anything you do say in a recorded police interview could be used as evidence in court. You have the right to stay silent in an interview – this is called a no comment interview. If you want to give a no comment interview, you must say ‘no comment’ to every question (except for your name and address). If you answer ‘no comment’ to some questions but answer others, the whole interview can be used as evidence against you.