Justice Reform Initiative Media Release, 29 October 2024
The Justice Reform Initiative is calling for the Northern Territory Government to urgently engage on community-based policy solutions to help deal with the record overcrowding in the NT’s prisons, warning that shuffling people between prisons or adding extra beds would not solve the underlying issues.
Justice Reform Initiative Northern Territory campaign coordinator Rocket Bretherton said the government had to act swiftly to relieve the pressure on both people in prison and prison staff, with unacceptable conditions currently for both due in large part to the government’s policy decisions.
“We need to be putting fewer people into prison, recognising that there is no evidence that imprisoning more people reduces crime,” she said.
“No one is winning at the moment – not the people who are locked up and confined to their cells for most of the day, nor the prison staff who are being asked to work in unsafe conditions, nor the community, who are not made safer through this failed ‘tough on crime’ approach.
“Over the past year we have already seen a steady increase in the NT’s prison population, and this will simply get worse with new legislation coming into force to restrict access to bail, outlaw public drinking and bring back mandatory sentencing.
“The answer is not to build more prisons, but examine why so many people are in prison in the first place and address those underlying drivers of crime.
“We also need to look at all the options for reducing pressure on prisons, including releasing people who are not being held for serious offences or are otherwise low-risk to serve home detention or move to community corrections supervision orders. We could also reduce remand numbers by releasing people who are on remand but likely won’t serve lengthy sentences.
“The government could also consider reopening the rehabilitation service at Stringybark Centre in Berrimah and releasing people who are almost finished their sentences for drug and alcohol related offending into rehabilitation.
“We send people to prison for punishment, but being locked down because of a lack of staff makes the experience far more punitive and goes well beyond the acceptable standards. It’s time to stop looking for short-term fixes by moving people around, and look for evidence-based solutions that address the bigger problems.”
The Justice Reform Initiative has recently published a series of discussion papers on key reform areas including early intervention, as well as reports outlining the success of evidence-based alternatives to prison.
Media contact: Pia Akerman, 0412 346 746
The Initiative respectfully acknowledges and supports the current and longstanding efforts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to reduce the numbers of Indigenous people incarcerated in Australia and, importantly, the leadership role which Indigenous-led organisations continue to play on this issue. We also acknowledge the work of many other individuals and organisations seeking change, such as those focused on the rate of imprisonment for women, people with mental health issues, people with disability and others.