The prison system is failing to make Victoria a safer place, with nearly one in two prisoners returning to jail within two years of release, a report has found.
There are calls for a drastic reform of the corrections system, with more focus on tackling the cause of crime and more services and programs for prisoners in jail.
Ombudsman Deborah Glass said in her report that “while the public is understandably horrified by violent crime, we cannot keep pouring funds into a correctional system that is not making us safer”.
“If we continue in this way, current trends in both prisoner numbers and cost mean it will not be long before we have to make hard decisions between prison beds or hospital beds, better schools or more security.”
Victoria’s prison population exploded by 25 per cent between 2011 and 2014. In January, Victoria recorded a record prison population of 6506 – it is projected to grow to 8300 by June 2019.
One in two prisoners is now returning to prison within two years, with the recidivism rate soaring to 44 per cent during the past five years. In the decade to 2009, the rate had dropped to 33.7 per cent.
Young men aged 18-24 are most at risk of re-offending.
“The current system is not sustainable,” Ms Glass said. “The rapid growth in people in the system and behind bars has overwhelmed the capacity to deliver consistent and effective rehabilitation or reintegration for prisoners.”
Better education has been identified as a key. Of the 6386 prisoners in jail in March only 246 had completed secondary school.
Case management, mental health support services – 40 per cent of prisoners have mental health issues – and support for people with an acquired brain injury in prison needs to be improved, Ms Glass says.
She called on Victoria to embrace the “justice reinvestment” approach that diverts funds from prisons to initiatives designed to reduce offending.
Ms Glass said transitional programs where prisoners have limited release into the community before full release have proved effective in reducing recidivism.
But places are limited to just 25 spots for men. Ms Glass has called on the Andrews government to look at how to expand this service.
“The state needs a comprehensive approach – across the justice system, education, health and housing – to focus on the causes of crime rather than its consequences,” she said.
She praised the work of alternative forms of justice such as the Koori court, drug courts and neighbourhood justice centres.
But Victims of Crime Commissioner Greg Davies said the Victorian public deserved protection from violent criminals, whatever the cost.
“No one should ever try and dare to put a cost on the safety of Victorians,” Mr Davies said.
“There are prisoners in our system, many of them that cannot or do not want to be rehabilitated. Until there is a foolproof way of who can or cannot be rehabilitated, and an effective means of doing so, then we should not gamble with the lives of Victorians.”
He said if community protection meant tougher sentences then “so be it.”
Shadow Attorney-General John Pesutto said the Coalition made “no apology” for its tough approach to locking up serious offenders.
“Of course we have to continue tackling the causes of crime and investing in lower re-offending rates, but people advocating alternatives to prison for violent crimes like rape and murder need to detail what groups of prisoners they want to see back in the community,” Mr Pesutto said.
The Labor government welcomed the “landmark” report. Corrections Minister Wade Noonan said the surge of prisoners meant offenders missed out on treatment and some left prison only to offend again.
CORRECTION: The original version of this story reported that half of Victoria’s prison population comes from six suburbs or towns: Broadmeadows, Corio, Doveton, Frankston North, Maryborough and Morwell. This is not correct. Half of the prison population comes from 6 per cent of postcodes. The mistake was made by the Ombudsman’s office.
source: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/half-young-offenders-in-victoria-returning-to-jail-within-two-years-new-report-20150917-gjommz