Reducing Crime and Incarceration
I put a private members’ motion on the notice paper this week on the topic of crime and incarceration rates. Hopefully it’ll be selected for debate in the coming weeks.
Dr LEIGH: to move:
That this House:
(1) recognises that:
(a) the Australian incarceration rate has risen from 117 prisoners per 100,000 adults in 1991 to 172 prisoners per 100,000 adults in 2010;
(b) since the Indigenous Deaths in Custody Report was released in 1991, the Indigenous incarceration rate has risen from 1739 prisoners per 100,000 adults to 2303 prisoners per 100,000 adults; and
(c) an increasing number of Australian children have a parent behind bars; and(2) encourages governments at all levels to pursue innovative policies to reduce crime and incarceration rates, including:
(a) investing in early intervention programs to deter young people from crime;
(b) where appropriate, considering alternatives to incarceration such as weekend detention, periodic detention, restorative justice and drug courts;
(c) employing smart policing strategies, such as using real-time crime statistics to identify and target crime hotspots;
(d) establishing in-prison education, training and rehabilitation programs aimed at reducing recidivism and improving family relationships for prisoners with children; and
(e) implementing randomised policy trials (akin to the 1999 NSW Drug Court randomised trial) to rigorously evaluate the impact of criminal justice interventions.
Thanks to intern Jess Woodall for her help drafting the motion.
Update: Here’s my speech in the debate, which took place on 21 November 2011.
Nobody who goes to jail should have to live in fear of being stabbed, beaten, raped, or otherwise physically harmed. This is not a necessary part of the experience and all of the funds suggested to be spent on a-e above should instead be spent on ensuring that jail becomes a physically safe place to be. That should be the starting point.
Also, as a budget neutral reform, there should be many more literary works, and a great deal less gym equipment. It is probably harder to beat someone to death with the works of Shakespeare than with pool balls or iron bars (although probably not impossible). It would also be difficult to spend years of your time reading literature and then emerge without some appreciation of the subtleties of tragedy and humour, the two most important ideas required for a developed sense of empathy and kindness.
The most direct method to reduce incarceration rates: shorter sentences and re-legalizing banned activities.
Our Federal Government needs to look more seriously at our present prohibition drug policies. 80% of those in prison are there for drug related crime. The Global Commission on Drug Policy, released in June this year, commissioned by many former heads of state, government ministers and high ranking UN officials, made this comment: “Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately: that evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem, and that the war on drugs has not, and cannot, be won. Governments do have the power to pursue a mix of policies that are appropriate to their own situation, and manage the problems caused by drug markets and drug use in a way that has a much more positive impact on the level of related crime, as well as social harms.