Ask Stacey: Help! Everyone Can See My Ankle Monitor!

You may be following in an age-old tradition of this county by languishing in one of his Majesty’s prisons, but you are not forgotten!

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You had questions, and we listened!

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Question 1: Any suggestions for how to deal with looks/comments from people noticing your ankle monitor and ideas on how to disguise it?

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So, as I’m transgender I feel like people are staring at me and not my ankle bracelets. So, you could just be trans? Failing that, I wear boots, high socks, or trousers. I also highly recommend a scrunchy (the big puffy hair ties) to put at the bottom of your GPS on your ankle to stop it banging and rubbing on your malleolus bones, the lumpy bones at the bottom of your ankle.

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When it comes to the alcohol monitor it’s a bit trickier. It needs an unobstructed contact with your skin. So, boots were the best for me. If your trousers get in between the alcohol monitor and your skin, you risk a tamper alarm. If you get one of those, you will get a ‘please explain’ from parole. If that’s a common conversation, they ask questions like can you fulfil your conditions. You don’t need that headache.

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Comment: Just so you know, no one has ever commented on my GPS. The only people who ever see it are at the beach, and they are not looking at my ankles.

Question 2: Are there restrictions on parole prohibiting you from changing your appearance (e.g. hair dye, cosmetic surgery) and your name?

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Appearance: I dye my hair a very dark red and that’s no real issue. It isn’t really a forever thing so no big deal if you get a haircut or grow a moustache. Plus, they can see you each reporting day, you don’t need permission. It’s not a parole condition not to dye your hair, shave your head or get lip filler.

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Plastic surgery is different though. I had plastic surgery, and, by the way, getting my face cut off was not as cool as the movie Face Off led me to believe. It took ages to heal!

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In reality, a lot of parole is asking for permission – and if you don’t ask but do it anyway, then you can get into trouble. If you explain you got hit by a car and didn’t plan to be hit by a car, then it’s not your fault. But if something was being planned for a while, like plastic surgery, then they will not be chuffed.

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After the surgery, they will need a new photo. But that’s ok, because you will look amazing!

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Name change: There IS legislation all over the place about name changes and it being subject to strict laws in prison, parole and all the different registers and orders. So, check. Ask everyone you are beholden to. It is complicated and each state has its own laws around it. But it will very, very likely be a breach of parole to change your name without written permission from EVERYONE who you has oversight over you, like the Adult Parole Board and registers. For example, in Victoria you will need written permission from the Adult Parole Board before you can apply through Births Deaths and Marriages to change your name – if you don’t, it’s an offence.

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Question 3: What are the rules regarding interstate or overseas travel whilst on parole?

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This ties into your amazing new photos of your new face! If you travel without letting parole know, all the country could get to see it on the afternoon news. A ‘please explain’ will be the least of your worries then.

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I’ve travelled a fair bit while on parole for work. To Alice Springs, Sydney a few times, Adelaide and the Blue Mountains. Basically, I let parole know that I intended to travel. When, where, why. I provided them with all the supporting documents like letters from my employer, tickets, who I will be going etc. Everything was laid out in the open and then they assess it. They then give you a letter saying you have permission to leave the state to go to wherever you said you’re going to, and returning when you said you would. Or, they say no.

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If you’re traveling for work or a deeply personal reason, they will be more likely to be amenable to it. If you’re driving from Melbourne to Sydney in your car to see your old cellie, then maybe not.

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That’s all for this edition!