PIAC senior solicitor, Vavaa Mawuli, will speak at the Juvenile Justice Summit in Melbourne next week about a class action PIAC and law firm Maurice Blackburn have launched against the State of NSW on behalf of wrongly imprisoned children.
PIAC and Maurice Blackburn launched the class action in June 2011. It challenges the wrongful arrest of children by NSW police.
‘The NSW police are relying on a computer system that contains incorrect or out-of-date bail information. This means they are wrongfully arresting children and young people for breaches of outdated bail conditions,’ Ms Mawuli said.
Ms Mawuli will tell the Juvenile Justice Summit about the extensive campaign undertaken by PIAC and other organisations in the Children in Detention Advocacy Project, leading to the launch of the class action.
Her presentation will also look at the role played by police practices, bail laws and government policies in the routine unlawful and unnecessary detention of young people.
The Summit is in Melbourne on March 26 and 27. It will include presentations from Judge Mark Marien SC, President of the Children’s Court of NSW; and John Hubby, Chief Executive of Juvenile Justice NSW.
For more information about the class action, contact Vavaa Mawuli or visit the Facebook page.
Photo: PIAC’s Vavaa Mawuli with class action lead applicant, Musa Konneh.