Justice Reform Initiative Media Release, 12 March 2025
The Victorian Government’s proposal to reduce access to bail – including removing the principle of remand as a last resort for children – represents a costly, ineffective and harmful response to crime that will not work to keep communities safe.
While there is a need to prioritise community safety concerns, the best way to do this is by looking at the evidence about what works to reduce crime. The Justice Reform Initiative’s Executive Director Dr Mindy Sotiri said the Victorian Government needed to recognise both the overarching failure of imprisonment as a solution to crime prevention, and the failure of knee-jerk politicised law-making.
“Community anxiety and fear about crime should be taken seriously, but the proposed changes to bail will not improve community safety or address the underlying drivers of criminal offending,” Dr Sotiri said.
“We need to be very clear that talking tough on crime, or calling laws ‘tough’, is very different to actually engaging in the work that is required to build safer communities. The Tough Bail Laws proposal in Victoria is based on politics rather than evidence.
“The evidence is very clear that punitive bail laws do not deter crime, and locking people up on remand does not ultimately make the community safer. The experience of any form of imprisonment (regardless of whether someone is sentenced or on remand) is criminogenic – that is, it increases the likelihood of ongoing criminal justice system involvement.”
“The evidence is also clear that funnelling more people into prison on remand is incredibly expensive, disproportionately impacts First Nations communities, causes enormous harm, and fails to address the drivers of criminal justice system contact.”
“Since 2013, the number of people in prison in Australia who are unsentenced has risen by 130%, driving the cost of imprisonment to record levels. This move will drive those numbers higher in Victoria without any evidence to show that it will be effective in preventing crime – and Victorian taxpayers will be footing the bill for this ineffective policy.”
“The implications are even more acute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We have already seen in Victoria the way that restricting access to bail results in net-widening and causes significant harm to First Nations communities who are already disproportionately imprisoned by the state of Victoria.”
Dr Sotiri urged the Victorian Government to refocus its attention and resources on supporting frontline service providers and First Nations led organisations that are working to address the causes of offending.
“We need to take a clear-eyed look at what actually works to protect the community. We especially need to look outside of prisons, to the community-led, evidence-based programs and supports that we know are successful when it comes to reducing crime. This includes pre-charge diversion programs; alternative first responder models; bail support and housing; First Nations place based approaches; specialist courts and post-release support that genuinely address the drivers of criminal justice system contact”
The Justice Reform Initiative has recently published a series of position papers on key reform areas including bail, as well as reports outlining the success of evidence-based alternatives to prison.
Media contact: Amy Price 0437 027 156
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.