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Articles on Prisons policy

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Female prsioners wave goodbye to their fellow inmates following their release from Chikurubi prison on the outskirts of Harare in Zimbabwe in April 2021. Zimbabwe released about 3,000 prisoners due to COVID-19. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

More than a million prisoners have been released during COVID-19, but it’s not enough

During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world released many prisoners, but this has now slowed or stopped. Here’s why those releases should continue.
Daniel Andrews has announced reforms to Victoria’s bail laws following the events in Melbourne’s CBD last Friday. AAP/Angus Livingston

After Bourke St, Victoria should not rush in on bail reform

Australia needs to be very careful not to allow the bail system to become a political scapegoat at the hands of commentators exercising 20/20 hindsight.
Women who commit the same crime as men should in most cases receive lighter penalties. from www.shutterstock.com

How can we mitigate the crime that is female over-imprisonment?

The undeniable difference between men and women when it comes to committing crime should be reflected in a fundamentally different approach to the sentencing of women.
A NSW programme in which prisoners train stray dogs as part of their rehabilitation is one of a number of innovations adopted in recent years. AAP

Crime and punishment and rehabilitation: a smarter approach

Approaches to crime that rely on punitive methods have proved to be ineffective and counter-productive. Rehabilitation programmes not only prevent crime, but are cost-effective and practical.
In the past decade, the number of people ending up in South Australian prison cells has grown at seven times the rate of the state population. AAP/South Australian Correctional Services Department

State of imprisonment: South Australia’s prisoner numbers soar, with just 10% of budget for rehab

Since 2004, the number of prisoners in South Australia has risen seven times faster than the state’s net population growth – and nearly doubled its rate of locking up Indigenous Australians.
Most Australian states are having to build more prisons to keep up with soaring rates of imprisonment. AAP/Dave Hunt

The state of imprisonment in Australia: it’s time to take stock

In a new series on imprisonment trends, issues and policies across Australia, The Conversation asks why are imprisonment rates soaring, to what purpose, and with what financial and human consequences?
The human and financial costs to Australia of following America’s lead in imprisoning more and more people are huge. Shutterstock/BortN66

Prisons policy is turning Australia into the second nation of captives

The US is the great incarcerator, spending US$60 billion a year on prisons, and Australia is sliding down the same path. The solution? Confine jails almost exclusively to sexual and violent offenders.

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