Take the smart way to stop filling prisons

Getting tough on crime means investing in health and education, says Grant Herring

AT election time, community groups, business and industry roll out their resource rich wish lists with some expectation of acceptance by incoming government. Those in the community sector working in justice and corrections are no different. A wish list that could spare our community lots of expense while building social capital should have a bit of an edge.

Talking Point pages in recent months have developed awareness of the real costs of the corrections system, not only the enormous cost of keeping someone in prison or the $11 million plus for our youth detention centre (more than 10 times the cost of adult imprisonment) but the cost of crime itself and the often forgotten price paid by families of incarcerated people. The pre-election “tough on crime” supporters would most likely say; “do the crime, so do the time” without thought for the hidden costs to the community.

There is no argument here for prison abolition or soft sentencing. To quote US corrections expert Jerry Madden, “There are those in prison we are scared of, but also those we are just mad at.” Correctional facilities will sadly always be needed for perpetrators of violent crimes, though most people inside for traffic offences, financial misdealings or other non-violent offences, we are just “mad at”. There is however, a need for our community to understand that when people go to prison, we all pay a price, be it our tax dollar share of about $300 a day for every inmate or social housing for families displaced by incarceration of a breadwinner, the health costs of their changed living requirements or loss of education opportunities for young people.

On the wish list of JusTas, a community organisation of professionals, academics, practitioners and those with experience of the justice system, is the hope that our new government will focus on getting “tough on the causes of crime”. The list was provided pre-election for major political parties.

Any expectation that a period behind bars changes be- haviour, particularly in young people, points to our failure to make our society a better and safer place. This is further evidenced by the increasing numbers of custodial sentences while the actual crime rate is going down. Locking people up as punishment for wrongdoing fails to address the causes. Without a philosophy of remedial and restorative justice, our prisons will always be filled to capacity, no matter how many more we build.

Building our schools, hospitals and therapeutic facilities costs less and returns a dividend in better education and health. Good health, education, employment and sustainable housing keep our community safe.

Diverting wrongdoers to restorative justice, to learning and recovery pathways where community can see real value returned, where people with convictions can give back to society while building their own capability is positive investment. This is best achieved in a well-resourced community corrections service able to apply targeted programs to match the needs of individuals, their offences, the prisons and the courts. Justice reinvestment in this way is money well spent.

Wish lists are often made with fairies at the bottom of the garden charged with their delivery. JusTas, a great community resource of well researched experience and understanding, offers recipes in its wish list for saving millions (literally!) while supporting the building of a safer Tasmania. A new government committed to act on evidence, recognised best practice and informed opinion (rather than tiny winged creatures) should be relied upon to deliver.

Grant Herring is a member of JusTas, an organisation seeking safer communities and a fairer society, and social programs development manager with the Salvation Army in Tasmania.