Roundabout that leads back to the prison roster
444. 76. 11. No, they’re not your winning Lotto numbers. They’re not winning numbers at all. 444 is the number of times prolific burglar Allan Adams has been convicted, 76 is the figure for Daniel Johnson. Queen has notched a relatively paltry 11. Their stories are alarming, frustrating and heartbreaking. But they are not new. Sadly, they represent a broken record of wrongdoing, a vicious revolving door of recidivism. These stories, and many others like them, are a big headache for a Corrections minister who clearly doesn’t want to build a $1 billion prison but who may have no choice: too many prisoners keep making their way back.
Department of Corrections figures show that close to 60 per cent of inmates are back inside within two years of their release. Some a great deal sooner.
It’s a figure that has barely changed, despite numerous efforts by the Government and other organisations to shift it.
In the decade between 2006 and 2015 it was as low as 55.4 per cent and as high as 62.2.
And it’s worse if you’re young – 70 per cent of inmates aged under 20 will be back in jail within four years.
The issue was highlighted recently in a report by Professor Ian Lambie, the science adviser to the justice sector, and chief science adviser Sir Peter Gluckman. It pointed out that offenders struggled back in the community, even after a short jail term. It went on to say there was strong scientific evidence for ‘‘putting resources into crime prevention, early intervention and a smarter approach to rehabilitation and subsequent social inclusion for those already in the criminal-justice system – not for building more prisons’’.
Why do so many criminals struggle to stay straight and out of jail? What are the challenges on the outside and how does that influence their path? What kind of support do they need and get?
Over the next two pages Bess Manson and Rob Mitchell talk with key people and organisations about the roles support and reintegration play in our prison population.