Australian Greens spokesperson for Legal Affairs, Senator Penny Wright, has welcomed the Federal Government’s commitment to tackling the overrepresentation of Indigenous youth in the criminal justice system.
Senator Wright said the Government’s acceptance of all 40 recommendations of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torrens Islander Affairs report, Doing Time – Time For Doing, in whole, in part or in principle, was a strong step in the right direction.
“I am especially heartened by the justice reinvestment approach of the Government’s response to the ‘Doing Time – Time for Doing’ report,” Senator Wright said.
“The underlying principle of justice reinvestment is the redirection of funds towards localised approaches which are aimed at reducing offending and reoffending.
“We need to focus on developing targeted programs and services to decrease crime in communities rather than throwing away money on imprisonment costs, which does little to improve public safety or reduce Indigenous disadvantage.
“The high rate of indigenous youth in criminal detention – 28 times higher than the number of non indigenous youth – is indeed a national crisis and all levels of government need to work together with Indigenous communities to reverse this trend.
“The concept has been very successful in some of the most conservative jurisdictions of the United States, where 16 states are now either investigating or implementing a justice reinvestment model.
“For example, in Texas, the prison population has stopped growing for the first time in decades since the implementation of justice reinvestment strategies in 2008/2009.
“I am urging the Government to back up their words with actions by providing the funding necessary to implement the recommendations of the ‘Doing Time’ report in next year’s budget. It would be an excellent investment in the safety of the community.”