The numbers of person held in custody is increasing at an alarming rate

Dear Friends,

 I am breaking with tradition for a very good reason this month. The number of persons held in custody is increasing each week and the cost to the community is crippling effectiveness. The stats are really getting me down! Misinformation by media is driving more people into crime through their engagement with the criminal justice system. Prison creates crime. 

 It is apparent that several factors have led to the high number of people held in custody. 

The numbers of person held in custody is increasing at an alarming rate. This is NOT the prison system's fault. They are under pressure and have in many cases a reduced budget.

 We now have a larger number of offences being declared by lawmakers, an increase in the Police codes together with more police and therefore more arrests, a lack of quality lawyers for Indigenous people suspected of crime. The new Chair of the Prisoner's Release Board whose actions serve the media and other interests, are making many prisoners and their relatives feel that it is unjustified! I must admit, if she really knew much about prisons and what they do, it would be the last place that she would send a person, even to keep them off of the street for a few months. Her policies will leave the state with high levels of fear, and low experiences of justice. Crime is not increasing out of control. It’s the way we respond to it that fails us all. 

 There is the lack of effective programs for prisoners together with a lack of resources for pre and post sentence programs. Add to this the fact that WA has little idea of using effective restorative justice practices that are more likely to challenge offending behaviour patterns. We have failed to provide an opportunity for families of offenders to constructively act against their relative's criminal behaviour. We do not engage family and give them opportunities to stop neutralising their relative's offending behaviour. This can occur within the first circle of effective conferencing and healing circles. Courts do NOT challenge offending behaviour, neither do many prison based programs today, so who does???? 

 And that is just for offenders and their relatives! 

 Then we have the media frenzy! Please take the time to read the comments from 'The Australian' October 16th 2009.

THE State's top judge says government policy is driven by a misinformed public who wrongly believe crime rates are spiralling and judges are too soft. Chief Justice Wayne Martin said the government was responding to problems that did not exist. "Alarm arises from the fact that public perception appears to be driving public policy, and in particular driving the parliamentary branch of government to respond to perceived problems, which do not in fact exist," he told journalism students. "Many in our community consider that our community is being swamped by a wave of crime of tsunami-like proportions, to which the judiciary is responding insipidly with increasingly lenient sentences. Neither of these things is true." 

www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,26217512-2761,00.html

When it comes to being satisfied with the criminal justice system's workings, especially courts, few people get to fully participate, and those who do often do not feel as though the process has been fair or just, or get to experience a sense of justice in their own life following contact with the system.

 For Victims of Crime, the system is more about offenders. How does a person who has been victimised ask for a Restorative Conference? Will the DPP assist them to meet with an offender and his or her relatives to hear the story of hurt and harm? How do victims of crime get to become empowered when the vast majority of victims are categorised as 'not being serious enough' to warrant assistance and support. How do victims meet with an offender when they may not even know that their case is before the minor court, let alone the superior courts?

 We do not have a shop-front for victims! VMU and VSS are in different departments and have failed to cooperate with each other whilst adding to bureaucratic processes for victims. Do they need mediation?? Why do they sit in different camps with so much common ground? Their history tells it all. Surely it’s time for them to act as one and work for victims, all victims of crime, putting all of their focus on all victims, not just high profile or 'serious' ones.

 Victims have to rely upon Lawyers and local support groups. Lucky ones who are considered 'serious' may get help. The only other place for them to go is the Sycamore Tree Program, an unfunded program sponsored by Prison Fellowship. At least here they can meet an offender, tell their personal story and walk a part of their way into recovery with support.

 Prison is currently creating more victims as you read this. Sad isn't it? 

 Dr Dot Goulding's work on the Total Institution and the violence experienced within the walls tells a very tragic tale. Masculine violence knows no boundaries inside prison. And that is not just among inmates!

 My own work on the impact of the criminal justice system upon the self leads one to have a greater awareness of damage the happens from arrest onwards. The impact is debilitating, humiliating and fails to provide experiences of fairness or justice. The system becomes personified as an aggressor and bully, responsible for doing more harm than good. It appears too many people to provide a negative impact that spreads throughout the community.

 The soon to be presented research into male prisoner sexual assault tells us that all is far from well. Just imagine this weekend seeing 100 men walk free from the prison. 13 of them would have been raped, whilst another 30+ have been under pressure to perform a sexual act! What's more frightening is that if they are in for a sex offence, they will NOT find the professional support from a major government agency! Only 4 will deny that it occurs.

 And they call it Corrective Services??? For this month’s tragic stats see www.correctiveservices.wa.gov.au/_files/AG_Report_0910.pdf

 So there we have it. No its not a Bad Hair Day! This is stock standard practice. But there is good news. Yes!

 IF and it is a big IF, if we are to build or keep the prisons that we have then we MUST act to have them become Restorative Prisons. With quality practices, a Restorative Prison will use restorative justice and human rights as it foundation. it responds to effectively and not piece-meal towards Victim, Relatives of Prisoners and Community in a capacity building way, one that interacts holistically with them and prisoners, staff, management and the total institutional structure. It includes grievance processes, opportunities to open up the prison to healing circles, provide reparative responses at an individual and prison level, encourage restitution from prisoners, and assist them to work towards taking greater responsibility for their behaviour, and so on. This link will show you examples from Belgium    www.restorativejustice.org/prison/09examples/belgium

 There are many good examples of good people doing something but so many more people are needed if we are to reduce crime and re-victimisation.

 Before that though we need to look at who goes to prison and why? Who are most likely to become victimised and why? Why is it that young men are aggressors and create so many victims who are also male? Why is it that masculine behaviour often leads men to violence, power and control over others, and I'm NOT just talking about our male politicians here!!! 

Please pass this information on if you feel that it may help others.

Our link is here www.cscr.murdoch.edu.au/rjru.html

 Kindest regards,

 Brian