And CJ Morgan:

I am acquainted with a disproportionate number of inmates and x-inmates, here is a ground floor reality check you may be interested in, most inmates I am acquainted with are incarcerated for alcohol related crimes.

The next most prevalent is spouse abuse of apprehended violence orders. My own observation tells me, men are routinely separated by aggressive use of the instrument of the AVO from the children they love and wish to continue an association with and continue to fight in their own way for access to their children until prevented by incarceration and thus turned into official criminals by a ruthless system.

Then comes drug related crimes followed by the rest of the agenda of crime.

As the author of the article correctly points out, "US jails currently hold over 2 million people.." He goes on to point out that "In the Australian case, the total cost of prisons is nearly $3 billion per year, or about $100,000 per prisoner." Elsewhere he opines that "As with many things - good and bad - the United States suggests what the future might hold for us.

Indeed.

In the U$A the construction and running of 'correctional services' facilities is one of the few 'growth industries' still available to investors after their 'colleagues' in the once prolific manufacturing industries and the parasitic finance sector have 're-structured' American society by shipping untold millions of jobs to low-wage 'cheap labour' countries overseas, mainly in China and various other parts of Asia.

The vast majority of U$ 'correctional services' facilities are built, owned and operated by 'private' - ie, for profit, American corporations. Along with their British counterparts, the more dominant among them are 'well positioned' to expand the operations they have ALREADY established here in Australia.

Expect an increase in the Australian prison population ... with little change from the $3billion per year it is said to build, own and operate (BOO) our existing facilities.

CJ Morgan - you are absolutely correct as far as narcotic use, most "Party Drugs" and marijuana. Regulation would not only reduce prison populations drastically but cut deaths and injury from 'bad batches', reduce stealing and prostitution, relieve healthcare and law enforcement and put money into State Revenue. Prohibition isn't working.

I don't believe more people would take more drugs under such controls. If alcohol is any example many would experiment and go on to use in moderation. Some would never try and some become hopeless addicts. The biggest challenge would be as it is with alcohol - getting the message across about responsible use and attendant dangers. Basically I would anticipate similar problems as exist now - only more controlled.

I doubt all substances could be included. Meth springs to mind. Alcohol and meth fueled violence has landed many in the lock-up. The legal socially acceptable alcohol main offender still.

Plenty more convicts are there for selling illicit drugs to an eager clientele - non-violent crime again. Many of them 'ordinary' people bolstering their income selling pills to friends and acquaintances - hardly drug lords. Wrong and illegal - yes. Best punished by incarceration? I doubt it!

In the end though, everything comes back around to "Personal Responsibility" - taking consequences into account both before and after whatever you do. It should become a new subject in every schools curriculum! ASAP

Excellent article. It is horrifying to see how we are heading down the same path as the USA. Having recently worked in Perths maximum security prison I was horrified to find how many indigenous men from remote communities are in there for driving offences usually driving without a licence.
There are no licensing centres in these remote areas, and even if there were, there are few licensed drivers to perform the necessary driving instruction. Further more these men often have very poor verbal let alone written English. Of course people in these remote communities still need to drive, and drive they do. One thing there is no shortage of in remote Australia is police officers. These men get charged with driving without a licence. They then fail to turn up to court and get charged with breach of bail. Soon enough they end up in jail at a cost to tax payers of $100,000 per year. Such a sum could surely provide for a mobile licensing centre.
With ever more onerous licensing procedures, i.e extra expense and need for log books and formal driving instruction the problem is only likely to get worse.
Fines for not wearing seatbelt in WA are now $500. Likewise if your child is not in an approved child seat. How do you pay fines like that when you are on welfare? How many black Australians are going to end up in prison due to these outrageously excessive fines?

that if they're given a chance, convicts can do just as well as anyone".

For crying out loud ! These convicts weren't criminals in the first place. Much too many of these poor, innocent souls were simply shipped out of the way for convenience by bureaucracy of the day. They did well out here because they were decent & hard-working & didn't have so many obstacles in the new environment. Alas, 200 years on we're now under a similar persecution system.

Rhys Jones said...

"It is horrifying to see how we are heading down the same path as the USA"

Rhys, your right in very inch of sentence.

BLUE