Is Australia the mother of all jailers of Aboriginal people? Nearly 1 in 3 Australian prisoners are Aboriginal. Australias prison population = over 31,000 Number of Aboriginal prisoners = over 8,500 = 30% What can you do? Sign up to the Justice Reinvestment campaign at justicereivestmentnow.net.au and help us change government policy. As Gerry Georgatos writes, imprisonment is not the answer. It is well beyond time for restorative justice practices – restorations to impoverished communities, the reduction of extreme poverty – restoration of human worth, the bona fide belief in improving the lives of others, the working with others psychosocially and tangibly rather than in bundling them into a labyrinth of cold dank cells, out of sight, out of mind for a period of time. When we assist someone in need, someone in trouble, someone who is wayward, someone in the abject morass of tumult, we help not only that individual but also that person’s family, that family’s extended families, and that person’s legacy to his/her children, we help society as a whole. The cost in doing this is cheaper and leaps and bounds more beneficial, in the short-term and long-term, than the more than $100,000 per annum it costs to upkeep someone in a cold dank cell. Let us always consider the evident unreported costs on families, communities, society when we insist on gearing someone only to the presumption of a life of crime, and to familial dysfunction. Personal responsibility is one thing, but this personal responsibility business belongs also to Governments and society. The penal estate should be a haven of psychosocial services, elementary and higher education opportunities, havens of wellbeing opportunities, havens of employment skills training – the penal estate where it is to exist should be no less. Redemption and friendship are core of any genuine humanity. How we treat the most vulnerable and at-risk in our prisons will tell us not only about who we are but of the society that we can have. There must be an acknowledgment of the premise that for every perpetrator of unlawful and immoral acts there is a victim or the plurality of victims. Rather than locking up someone for a period of time to remove that person as risk to society we can work to end the prospect of that person from ever perpetrating another wrong. Where prisons are needed they should not be harsh environments that only fracture humanity and ensure high re-offending rates. And where the criminal justice system can prevent people from sentencing offenders to jail sentences then it should do so, instead connecting them with support services and people who have been prepared and up-skilled to help them. The shocking fact is that despite drops in property crime, despite drops in all forms of theft, our prison numbers are skyrocketing! People are being sentenced for a myriad of minor offences – disorderly conduct, misdemeanours, for not being able to pay fines, etc. Imprisonment in itself does not deter crime... WHAT CAN YOU DO? Sign up to our campaign calling on government to implement a policy of Justice Reinvestment - Now at justicereinvestmentnow.net.au ...and join the growing community of Australians calling on the government to implement a justice reinvestment policy to address the over-representation of Aboriginal people in prison as a matter of urgency.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 00:42:23 +0000
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