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Articles on Imprisonment rates

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Indigenous community members outside the Victorian coroners court ahead of the release of a report into the death of Veronica Nelson. Tamati Smith/Getty Images

‘Discriminatory impact on First Nations people’: coroner calls for urgent bail reform in Veronica Nelson inquest

Arrested on suspicion of shoplifting and denied bail, Veronica Nelson died alone in a cell. A Victorian coroner has called for urgent reform of the state’s tough bail laws.
Electronic monitoring typically involves fitting offenders with tamper-proof bracelets to monitor whether they are abiding by conditions imposed on them. Flickr/Chris Yarzab

Electronic innovation can help fix an archaic, crowded prison system

The days of prison, an 18th-century industrial institution, as the justice system’s dominant form of punishment may be numbered. Electronic monitoring of offenders is one promising alternative.
Judge Steven Alm pioneered the HOPE project, the first of scores of swift and certain sanction programmes in the US. Youtube/PBS screenshot

Swift and certain sanctions: does Australia have room for HOPE?

The success of probation programmes based on swift and certain sanctions has led to more than 160 such schemes operating in the US. Australia should consider whether the model might work here too.
Australia acknowledges the sacrifices of war veterans on commemorative occasions, but those who are charged with criminal offences can only hope the court shows understanding. AAP/Rebecca Le May

Burdens of war service create a strong case for a veterans’ court

The creation of veterans’ courts could be part of a fundamental shift to a criminal justice system that genuinely tackles the causes of crime.
Rising imprisonment rates are the result of political responses to media and public agitation for tougher sentences. AAP/David Crosling

The evidence is in: you can’t link imprisonment to crime rates

Some claim rising crime rates justify jailing more people, others that such policies cut crime. Evidence from around the world shows those claims are wrong and that we should be looking at inequality.
Most of Tasmania’s relatively small prison population is housed at Risdon Prison Complex. Wikimedia Commons/'Risdon' by Wiki ian

State of imprisonment: Tasmania escapes ‘law and order’ infection

Imprisonment rates in Tasmania have steadily declined over the past decade – the only state or territory where this has happened. That is a result of progressive and effective corrections policies.
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?
In recent times, Victoria has reverted to the punitive approach that once filled the Old Melbourne Gaol, with little thought for the long-term consequences. Flickr/Eva

State of imprisonment: Victoria is leading the nation backwards

Victoria was once characterised by low imprisonment rates and innovative corrections policy. The state now has Australia’s highest rate of growth in imprisonment.

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