Individual,
There is some merit in your comments but what do we do with the prison culture?

All that harsh prisons do is create harsher criminals we the public suffer the losses they cause as well as the violence etc.
Also read my comment on costing. Surely we can do better?

Locking them up with hard labour just doesn't work.
The problem is our system is based on a dubious concept of justice ...one size fits nobody. Some juveniles would be better served by victim conferencing i.e. make the little buggers face their victims in a controlled environment.

Some need scared straight ' lock them up in a big prison (isolation) over night' after a controlled session with real crims.'

Some real hard cases at 16-17 should be treated like adults.

Most of all some need to be given a better reason (positive) to go straight.
There is no point locking a crim up for 5-7 years and then releasing him with no more skills than he started with except those from other crims then there's the 'inside' contacts.
The real issue is preventative action with the tear away children before they get to be serious problems for everyone else and it costs several times more.
As I said to Hasbeen I'm not necessarily going soft but It's enlightened self interests. I don't want my tax going down the drain for out a good reason. Current system hardly controls crime escallating.
What do with the white collar crooks

It is my most sincere opinion & not mere redneck philosophy that the rise in crime is directly linked to incompetent law makers.
How many law makers do not have an academic background ?
Why do they discourage trial by jury ? Because jurors come from all walks of life & when they come to a sensible conclusion it irritates the lawyers because then the money trail ends !
Is prison the answer for crims ? definately ! The key word is Prison ok, not motel with exercise room & better educational facilities & support than is available for decent folk.
I find it just so discriminating when I hear of some prisoner getting free education & re-enter society with a degree or other qualification whilst decent people can't afford the time & money to attend a Tafe course.
Treat a criminal as a criminal & afford him human courtesy only when he can prove that he/she attained human qualities. On the other hand if a wrongful conviction is made then every effort must be made to compensate the wrongfully convicted without delay & to the fullest extent of lost property & finances.

Individual,
As I said that's fine but have you got any evidence of your uncompromising position?
I do not deny your right to your opinion or bias/prejudice.

I am often in conflict with some who don't seem to make the distinction between an opinion (a conclusion developed by reason and evidence) and a prejudice/bias (a perspective that doesn't require evidence or reasoning).
The first is an subject open to discussion ( a swapping of evidence proofs and reasons for the conclusions logic patterns etc.) the other isn't.

I have opinions and prejudices but make the effort (learn, change my mind) to overcome the latter in favour of fact based opinions.

If some one has a deeply held bias and I know it, within certain boundaries, I try to accept that and avoid conversation for conversation sake, which only ends up in fights etc. (waste of time all round).
The difficulty is sometimes working out which the poster is putting up.
I am always open to being proved wrong or hearing a different fact based conclusions.

A good example is I am not religious but some are I therefore avoid conversations on that topic unless it's on a factual level.
I hope this helps to understand my stance

Do I have evidence of my uncompromising position ? I'm uncertain of what you mean by that.
I accept that I sound uncompromising but as a victim of discrimination, theft & official corruption I can assure you that I have made a point of assessing the situation from another viewpoint. I simply can not see any merit in not punishing an offender. People often favour rehabilitation. Sounds good but, rehabilitate to what ? to their former condition ? hang on, wasn't being bad their former condition ? Why on earth rehabilitate them to being bad again ?
Only this afternoon I was listening to an indigenous Lady talking about the ineffective law system when dealing with young offenders. You know what ? It was like listening to myself. She stated the same simple facts that law pussy-foots around with young offenders & the victims , in her case a single mother was left with the damage bill, are ignored. I really can't comprehend why some people are so lenient & forgiving to those who cause so much grief to others. And yes, when it comes to that I am uncompromising because I have been at the receiving end of our judicial system. If I am wrong than so be it !

Examinator,

I can follow your logic that the current system is not rehabilitating criminals well enough. And I can follow your logic that extra training, support, even mentorship may assist in achieving better outcomes.
In isolation, that suggestion is a good one. But let me put that same suggestion to you in a different way.
As an unskilled, unemployed non-criminal you need to find money for food and shelter, jobseek to get the dole, and at the same time organise and pay for training to upskill yourself and make yourself more employable.
Alternatively, you could start committing crimes. Either you will get away with it and have more money etc. Or you will get caught, locked up, fed, sheltered, paid a wage, get provided with training to upskill you and get assistance with finding a job when you get released.
To me that doesn't sound fair to law abiding citizens.

I also think you need to consider the effect on the public. Unsuccessfully releasing criminals means the law abiding public is exposed to more risk of being robbed, raped, murdered. When does the goal of rehabilitating criminals outweigh the protection that needs to be afforded to law abiding citizens?

Maybe we do need to go back to the times when prison meant you had to do hard labour or as you suggested, victim confrontation and maybe even redemption.
I reckon let's get our $50,000 worth out of the criminals. There are a lot of roads out there that could use some upgrading. Actually as I am writing this I've realised that would help with upskilling them anyway.