What is the Albury Justice Support Network?

The Albury Justice Support Network (AJSN) was established in September 2007.

The programme was designed to provide support to people who have in intellectual disability whilst at Albury Police Station and stemmed from the recognition that vulnerable people, including those with an intellectual disability, are over represented in the criminal justice system.

This programme has now been extended to provide complimentary court support service at the Albury Local Court. This service assists people with an intellectual disability navigate their way through the complex legal system more effectively.

AJSN was created to assist people with an intellectual disability to have their rights upheld within the legal process that exists. A network of support persons has been established, using trained community workers, to provide support to vulnerable people throughout this process. This support is available whether the person is a victim, witness or alleged offender and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

AJSN Support persons provide the following roles:

• Help people to understand and exercise their rights
• Are independent from police and legal professionals
• Help people to get legal advice & understand it
• Raise any individual needs of the person
• Help the person to understand outcomes, conditions and consequences

AJSN was developed through a number of local partnerships. Disability Advocacy & Information Service (DAIS) coordinate AJSN with strong support from the Albury Police Station and the Community Legal Service. The Criminal Justice Support Network (CJSN) were instrumental in the creation of AJSN and provide training, after-hours support and a 24-hour legal advice telephone service.