Here in Australia, over the last twenty years our national prison population has been increasing at three times the rate of the national population, despite the fact that serious crime has not significantly increased in most categories over this same period of time. Given expenditure on Australian prisons is now approaching $2 billion a year, it is a particularly expensive operation. The “justice reinvestment” movement proposes that it is now time to consider more effective and more economically viable alternatives. Justice reinvestment proposes that funds be diverted from incarceration and invested in preventative programs aimed at reducing offending behaviours. It features a strong community development approach to crime prevention, working with communities to bolster local social service infrastructure.

The approach has been applied in the US, where already $443 million has been saved, a further $240 of these savings have been reinvested in drug and alcohol programs, education and community initiatives. Currently there is a parliamentary commission investigating the value of a justice reinvestment approach in Australia.

What are your thoughts? Is this something that politicians/service users/ communities should embrace? Is it time Australia utilised a justice reinvestment approach?

Bring back capital punishment, because if the recent case of murder is not a case for the death penalty, what is?

I welcome our new contributer, and say I too here and in real life have called for change.
In a current thread and many past ones for law reform.
And in a recently stalled thread and many past ones, for welfare reform.
Just handing out more welfare, in my view is not productive.
In seeking for solutions, we must confront this truth, the public must support and agree with the change.
Current welfare is not always policed, and in part we pay a few to both commit crime and stay on welfare.
Given current debate, *refugees/Migrants* coming here for our welfare, see a Foreign Minister ABC TV this week placing our social security system, high on the list of why his country,s people get in boats.
Less time in prison?
Given the total failure of our justice system, in letting awful people with awful records out early, to commit more crime, do you see popular support for less time in prison.
In my view if both welfare and crime prevention are to be linked first create true work for welfare for at least the unemployed.
And that on its own will help.
We, both of us, should be happy both sides of the house by voting against Capital punishment, do not agree with Rechtub

It amazes me that alcohol is legal and other drugs are illegal. Legalising almost all drugs and treating addiction as a social rather than as a criminal problem would reduce the prison population.

In today's news was the announcement that ANZ was getting rid of many employees and outsourcing jobs to other countries. Poverty and unemployment are sources of crime. If a corporation wishes to exist in Australia and make money from Australians they should be obligated to employ Australians wherever possible. This could be effected by financial penalties if a company decides to outsource when there are Australians who could do the work.

Minimising outsourcing and legalising most drugs would reduce the prison population.

Belly, for the record, the only cases that I would support the death penalty, are those where the offender has been caught red handed.

David f this is why I mentioned my view changes should be ones most agree with.
And your thoughts, shared by your party the greens that drugs should be legalized highlights why.
Few understand, for the most part drugs harm the less well off and make some already rich, richer.
I will support a change that confiscates all property included hidden in other names, of rich in any such crime, to fund imprisonment for as many as it can.
The authors views, to try to limit those committing crimes has Merritt.
I once said legalizing, but controlling the supplier was a better way, but if criminals continue to feed off drugs, and others commit crime to buy them, we must think of better ways.
How many would agree with legalizing drugs? very few in my view.