It may surprise many people, despite being portrayed by some as an 'angry' dad wanting revenge after the death of my son, that core to our petitions last year, was a review of the framework in treating recidivism; a review of the capacity and suitability of correctional facilities; and a review of the rehabilitation programs (in prison and community).
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I have met the leadership of ACT Corrections including the Minister, and with patrons of the Justice Reform Initiative (JRI) to discuss these matters. I share the many concerns raised by the JRI regarding failings of the Justice System in the ACT, and nationally.
I applaud the JRI's "Insights Report Into Incarceration In The ACT" released in March. Along with the "Healthy Prison Review" by the ACT Inspector of Correctional Services, it paints a dire picture.
The report commends the ACT 'Communities not prisons' and 'Reducing recidivism by 25 per cent by 2025' policies but states "... much more needs to be done to break entrenched cycles of justice system involvement" and "Adhering to a criminal justice system that fails to rehabilitate, fails to deter, and fails to keep the community safe comes at an enormous financial cost".
In 2022, the ACT spent $74 million on its prisons. That's 108 per cent more than we spent in 2012-13. In the last 10 years, our prison population grew by over 46 per cent, outstripping our population growth of 21 per cent. The proportion of our population in prison keeps growing - only Queensland is growing faster. We have the highest rate of prior imprisonment of those in prison in Australia at 77.2 per cent. It's even higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at 92 per cent. This excludes those reoffenders on community orders and bail. Our First Nations peoples imprisoned in the ACT has grown by 105 per cent over the last decade.
At $190,769 per prisoner per year we have the most expensive per-prisoner-per-day cost in the country. The Alexander Maconochie Centre was flawed from its inception and getting worse year on year as per the latest Health Prison report: "Imprisonment is an expensive model that increases the likelihood of ongoing criminal justice system contact.
"There is considerable evidence that investing in housing, accessible treatment for alcohol and other drug abuse, mental health and disability support, and community development is more effective in terms of cost and community safety."
Our current approach and pitiful funding are not addressing fundamental criminogenic factors. We need to stop with the lip-service of "justice reinvestment" and consider parallel investment into new, holistic, and long-term programs, with rehabilitation and reintegration at their core.
Last year, we spent $1.175 million on justice reinvestment programs in grants. A mere $700,000 in justice housing programs (with homelessness for former prisoners in Australia around 54 per cent). We spent $2.51 million over two financial years (2019-21) for the Drug and Alcohol Court for 106 participants. We have limited addiction and mental health support at the AMC, have cancelled the development of the Justice Reintegration Centre and barely use the Transition Release Centre.
So, how do we create a nation-leading, human rights-centric corrections system here in the ACT?
There are many examples elsewhere we can consider, including Germany, Denmark, and The Netherlands. But one nation, Norway, stands out in reducing recidivism.
In the 1990s, Norway had the same problems we face in the ACT. Roughly 70 per cent of all released prisoners recommitted crimes within two years of release. Norway undertook a complete overhaul of its corrections system.
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It developed smaller, community-based correctional facilities that focused on rehabilitation and reintegration into society, including open prisons. They still recognise the objective seriousness of certain crimes, with maximum sentences of up to 21 years. They still punish the most heinous of crimes such as homicide and sexual assault. However, by changing the approach to sentencing for lower-end offences, they have significantly addressed recidivism. Of their sentences, 60 per cent are less than three months, 90 per cent less than 12 months. They have a genuine focus on reintegration, rehabilitation and the social-economic factors that drive criminality.
Norway's recidivism rate is 20 per cent after two years of release, and 25 per cent after 5 years, and has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. Compare that to our reoffending rate of 62.1 per cent (imprisoned/community corrections - higher than it was eight years ago) and the 77.2 per cent prior imprisonment rate in the ACT. The ACT has focused mainly on sentencing, but with limited to non-existent support after sentencing this approach is clearly not working.
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Norway maintains prisoners' humanity whilst incarcerated, focusing on individualised support, skills development, and education. Those unemployed before prison see a 40 per cent increase in employment rates after prison. Contrast that with our incarcerated, who spend 12 hours a day in their cells, have minimal education and skills training opportunities and are "bored shitless" (according to our former Inspector). The JRI report states "low rates of industry and education programs available to prisoners in the AMC further exacerbate the high rates of homelessness and unemployment among those newly released from prison".
In the ACT, at 116 persons imprisoned per 100,000 adults we are well below the average of 205 in Australia. However, comparing our rates to similarly ranked OECD Better Life Index countries - Germany (67), Netherlands (66), Denmark (72), Canada (85), and Norway (57) our imprisonment rates are a disgrace. With appropriately directed funding, the JRI target of a 50 per cent reduction in prison population by 2030 is achievable. The ACT can lead the nation through an "effective, holistic, community led and evidence-based" approach to our corrections and justice systems. But it needs more than high level policy statements. It needs way more than the $20-$30 million that can be evidenced in spending over the last three years toward our justice programs.
What we are doing now is clearly not working and failing everyone.
- Tom McLuckie, whose son, Matthew, was killed in a collision with a stolen car being driven on the wrong side of Hindmarsh Drive last year, is an advocate for judicial reform and review.
