Australia is putting more people in prison despite a fall in the number of criminal offenders, according to new research from the Productivity Commission.
Commissioner at the Productivity Commission, Stephen King said the Research Paper Australia’s prison dilemma looked at what was driving the trends, the costs on society and whether there were alternatives to prison that kept the community safe, but at a lower cost.
“This is happening across all States and Territories,” Commissioner King said.
“It’s a complex story,” he said.
“There is no single reason why imprisonment has been increasing, but what we know is that ‘tough on crime’ policies have been a contributing factor.”
Commissioner King said the high imprisonment rate was costing taxpayers, but was not necessarily creating a safer society.
He said that while imprisonment played an important role in Australian society, the Commission’s Paper found prisons were costing taxpayers more than $5 billion per year, or more than $330 per prisoner per day.
“Despite this expense, the system isn’t working as well as it could be,” he said.
“Sixty per cent of prisoners have been there before – one of the highest rates in the world.”
Commissioner King said that for low-risk prisoners, incarceration did not keep society safer and alternatives needed to be examined.
He said prisons ware essential for violent and high-risk offenders, but there was a “revolving door” for people convicted of low-to-medium risk crime.
“We can achieve better outcomes for them and society by carefully using alternatives to prison.”
Commissioner King said alternatives could include home detention, electronic monitoring and intensive rehabilitation programs.
He said the Productivity Commission’s Research Paper included several case studies where alternatives had been used, however, a critical first step to resolving the issue was to build a stronger evidence base to guide policy decisions.
The Commission’s 153-page Research Paper can be accessed at this PS News link.
