Justice Reinvestment to Tackle Shameful Indigenous Imprisonment Rates
8th August 2013
Greens WA Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region, and spokesperson on Aboriginal issues, Robin Chapple MLC, concurs with the Law Council of Australia’s recent strong concern regarding the shameful high imprisonment rates among indigenous Australians.
“It is shocking that 2.5% of Australia’s population account for 26% of the jail population, with WA having the highest rates in Australia. Regional areas, like Pilbara, have extremely high rates, for instance in June there were 134 indigenous prisoners at Roebourne Regional Prison, making up 92% of the total prison population.
“The ‘tough on crime’ approach of the major parties is not working. It is not reducing crime rates, it is not making our communities safer, and it is leading to higher rates of imprisonment, at a huge cost to the taxpayer.
“We can be smarter with the way we spend this money, by investing in stronger communities. That is why I wholeheartedly support the introduction of a justice reinvestment system in Western Australia.
“I have seen ample evidence of the success of this approach in my long involvement with aboriginal communities around WA. The Yiriman Project, in Fitzroy Crossing, has achieved outstanding success in diverting at-risk youngsters away from the justice system. And the employment of Martu people as desert rangers also demonstrates the effectiveness of alternative strategies.
“The turnabout from the government on justice reinvestment in May 2013, through its new Corrective Services Minister Joe Francis, gives me hope that we might at long last make some progress towards a better way - where communities might see far fewer of their future citizens enmeshed in our current one-size-fits-all system,” concluded Mr Chapple.
Justice Reinvestment Plan - http://penny-wright.greensmps.org.au/campaigns/justice-reinvestment
