Is Victoria's criminal justice system relying too heavily on imprisonment?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right: On June 28, 2019, Sky News Australia televised a report on the all-time high numbers in Victorian prisons due to a toughening of bail and parole provisions.What they said
'We need to have a really close look at each and every element of our bail system and we need to make profound change for the future to keep Victoria safe'
Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, commenting on bail reform after the Bourke Street Mall massacre in January 2017
'The Adrian Bayleys and James Gargasoulases of the world are a tiny fraction of the prison population. We do not need a mass incarceration system to deal with these extreme cases'
Melanie Poole, a consultant and former policy engagement director at the Federation of Community Legal Centres
The issue at a glance
In May 2019, Victoria's budget announced greatly increased government spending on the state's prisons.
The state budget contained $1.8 billion in new spending on prisons and corrections, including funding for the new maxi jail at Chisholm Road, beside the existing Barwon Prison just north of Geelong. The budget also contained $237 million for an upgrade of the state women's prison at Ravenhall in Melbourne's west.
This investment is a response to the state's soaring prison numbers and represents a point of strain within government policy.
Reforms undertaken by successive governments, both Labor and Coalition, have seen a tightening of parole and bail regulations, the removal of suspended sentences and a reduction in judges' discretion around sentencing. Together with a growing state population and increased numbers of police, the result has been the most rapid growth in incarceration in the state's history.
Commentators vary in their responses to these developments. The State Opposition is urging an even stronger 'tough-on-crime' approach while some lawyers' groups and social welfare advocates are recommending a more nuanced response and greater spending on preventative measures.