and processes between Magistrates Courts and Corrections Victoria. The project consisted of two stages.

Transcription

1 Magistrates Court of Victoria Video Conference Project (VCP) Project Guide GENERAL PROJECT INFORMATION 1. The project is the installation and trial of modern internet based video conference technology and processes between Magistrates Courts and Corrections Victoria. The project consisted of two stages. 2. The aim of the first stage of the project was to improve and expand the capacity to video conference matters between Courts and Corrections Victoria. The initial roll out of new video conference equipment occurred from September 2014 to March 2015 at selected court venues (18 courtrooms at 10 locations) and became operational in April Due to the success of the initial roll out, funding has been approved for the wider expansion of the project. This will result in the installation of 151 video conference units at 37 sites across Victoria. These sites include all Melbourne metro courts, major regional and a select number of satellite regional courts. It is expected that the full roll out will be completed by mid Stage two of the project introduced a process for legal practitioners and other agencies to securely dial into courts and prisons using a software solution to link from a range of devices such as a laptop, tablet and smart phone. Stage Two was successfully trialled during late The increased video conference facilities in prisons will provide the legal profession with greater opportunities to access their client pre and post the hearing of cases. 6. The video and audio data in a video conference link between a court and a prison is conducted over a managed WAN link and not over the public internet. BOOKING A VIDEO LINK Types of hearings appropriate for video conferencing 7. The following proceedings are considered appropriate for video conferencing: Mention hearing Sentencing hearing Plea hearing Contravention hearings Committal mention Delivering a reserved decision Contest mention Applications under the Crimes Act 1958 Special mention Applications for bail Applications for adjournment Final v2.0 Page 1 of 5

2 Requests to appear via video link 8. The Court may make an order on its own motion or on the written request of any party that an accused in custody attend the court hearing via video link. A request can also be made at the hearing of the matter for the subsequent hearing to be conducted by video link. 9. If the Court has not previously made an order that an accused appear via video link, a party to the matter can request a video link hearing. The request should be made in writing, via or fax, to the Coordinator at the court venue where the matter is listed. A list of contact details for all court venues can be found on the Court s website. 10. The Court s Custody Coordination Registry (CCR) will be notified by the relevant court venue of the request or order to appear via video link. The CCR will then coordinate with the Prisons Video Conferencing Unit and determine the start time for the video link. The CCR will advise all parties of the time of the video link. Requests to appear in person 11. Where an accused has been ordered to appear by video link on a subsequent occasion, a request for the accused to appear in person must be filed at the court venue where the matter is listed. The request should be made in writing, via or fax, and must be accompanied by a gaol order. Such request will be determined by a magistrate in chambers. 12. The timeframes to lodge a request to appear in person are listed below and have been set to allow adequate time for transport to the Court to be arranged. a. 3 working days prior to the hearing date accused in custody at Port Phillip Prison, Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, the Metropolitan Remand Centre and the Melbourne Assessment Prison. b. 7 working days prior to the hearing date accused in custody at Barwon Prison and all other correctional facilities. 13. If the request for the accused to appear in person is granted, the applicant will be notified by the Court and provided with the signed gaol order. 14. It is the responsibility of the person requesting the accused appear in person to send the signed gaol order to Corrections Victoria s Sentence Calculation and Warrant Administration Unit (SCWA) within the timeframes listed above. Gaol orders should be sent to: cvcentral.prisoner.records@justice.vic.gov.au CONFERENCES WITH CLIENTS Technology 15. The technology that has been chosen to facilitate client conferences is Cisco Jabber Guest. The software is simple to use and easy to install and will operate on most electronic Final v2.0 Page 2 of 5

3 communication devices. The Knowledge, Information and Technology Services (KITS) branch of the Department of Justice and Regulation (DJR) has upgraded the Corrections video conferencing service to work with the Jabber Guest software used by legal practitioners. Availability of Conferences 16. Times for client conference bookings have been extended and are available at certain prisons from 8.30am (Metropolitan Remand Centre, Port Phillip Prison and Barwon Prison) and 9:00am (Dame Phyllis Frost Centre). Times at regional prisons vary from 9:00am. 17. Afternoon/evening client conference booking times have also been extended, however the booking times will vary between prisons. 18. Please ensure that your preferred dates and times are included in your booking request. Providing alternative times will assist in ensuring a suitable booking is made in the event your first preference is not available. Confirmation of booking or alternative date and time suggestions will be provided if your preferred dates and times are not available. 19. Court matters take precedence over other conference bookings during court hours (9.30am 4.00pm). How to make a booking 20. Jabber Guest bookings for video conference calls are arranged by contacting the prisons Video Conferencing Coordination Unit via at: vc.prisons@justice.vic.gov.au 21. The earlier you request a booking, the greater your chances of obtaining your preferred conference time. All efforts will be made to accommodate late requests, however there is no guarantee that Jabber Guest links will be available for requests received less than 24 hours prior to the requested date. You will be notified via if your request can not be accommodated. 22. The following details need to be included in the request: Subject line: Jabber Guest booking request Name of prisoner: Date of birth: CRN number: (if known) Proposed time and date for conference call: Required duration of conference call: 23. The prisons Video Conferencing Coordination Unit will a Jabber Guest link to you, including confirmation of the date and time. Open the page in Jabber Guest. Final v2.0 Page 3 of 5

4 24. Clicking the Jabber Guest link will direct you to a Jabber Guest installation process if the software is not already installed on your device. For first time users, be sure to complete this step in advance of the scheduled conference starting time. 25. Clicking the Jabber Guest link will initiate the video conferencing call between yourself and your client. Just press call. Cost and data usage 26. When your phone or computer uses the internet it sends and receives things as data. This is 'data usage'. , digital video, music and photographs are all made of data and all can be sent and received over the internet (streaming). 27. Data is measured in kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB). There are 1024 KB in 1 MB and 1024 MB in 1 GB. 28. Video conferencing is similar to video streaming and will use a portion of your monthly data limit. During testing, a video conference call was using approximately 10MB of data per minute. 29. You should monitor your video conferencing usage to ensure that the data limits on your mobile/internet plans are sufficient. If you find you are exceeding your data usage limit, you should consider increasing the data limit on your plans. Approximate costs are listed below: Mobile Phone increasing your mobile internet plan by about 1GB (e.g. $10 for an additional 1GB data pack) should provide you an extra 1h 40mins, which equates to a cost of about $0.10 per minute of video conference. The exact cost to purchase extra data will be dependent on your provider. Final v2.0 Page 4 of 5

5 Home / Office Wi Fi internet Home internet plans are much cheaper than mobile plans. For example, a broadband plan of $70 for 300GB would equate to a cost of $ per minute (or $0.14 per hour) of video conference. Help and support for Jabber Guest/Client Conference 30. If you are experiencing software installation issues, you will need to contact the IT support staff within your own organisation. 31. KITS manage the video conferencing solution for the Department of Justice and Regulation. KITS does not provide device support for external participants. Please see the trouble shooting guide and FAQ for information on common problems. Contact your local IT support if still experiencing ongoing issues. CONTACTS General enquiries 32. A dedicated phone line has been created to facilitate quick and direct phone access to the Sentencing Calculation and Warrant Administration Unit of Corrections Victoria and the Custody and Coordination registry at the Magistrates Court of Victoria. The number is: Magistrates Court of Victoria 33. The Custody Coordination Registry can be contacted via at ccr@courts.vic.gov.au Prisons Video Conferencing Coordination Unit 34. Corrections Victoria s Prisons Video Conferencing Unit can be contacted via at vc.prisons@justice.vic.gov.au Corrections Victoria Sentence Calculation and Warrant Administration Unit (SCWA) 35. SCWA can be contacted via at cv central.prisoner.records@justice.vic.gov.au Department of Justice and Regulation KITS 36. KITS can be contacted via at telecomms@justice.vic.gov.au or (03) Final v2.0 Page 5 of 5