Just Reinvest NSW welcomes the NSW government’s announcement that it will introduce performance targets for overflowing prisons while aiming to reduce our prison population – but suggests justice reinvestment is a better and proven approach to curb reoffending and reduce prison rates. The SMH reports that Premier Mike Baird has staked his government’s reputation on achieving a five per cent drop in NSW’s prison population by 2019, and that one measure to curb this figure is the introduction of prison performance targets. (SMH, 30 January 2016) Sarah Hopkins, Chair of Just Reinvest NSW says without measures to strengthen communities where there are high rates of offending, the government’s plan will be thwarted. “We welcome the government’s initiative towards setting targets around reoffending but they need to look beyond Corrective Services,” says Ms Hopkins. “The government needs to look at what happens when someone leaves prison and returns home to their town, their family, and their local community, and the capacity of a community to support people returning home. “Pre and post release plans for returning prisoners are purely aspirational if they’re not linked to a community-driven response. “The NSW government needs to understand what’s […]
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