Persistently high rates of reoffending and Indigenous incarceration in the ACT have not been met with sufficient action to create change.
Independents for Canberra candidates are calling for an independent inquiry in the ACT’s criminal justice system to lay bare the failings of our system and offer a constructive pathway forward, citing a review of Victoria’s criminal justice system in 2021-22 that produced 73 findings and 100 recommendations.
The inquiry would investigate rates of reoffending, youth offending and diversion, policing approaches and resources, justice reinvestment, bail, sentencing, corrections, family and domestic violence, and the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
Paula McGrady, candidate for Murrumbidgee, has spent her life in crisis support work, including more than five years working with young people in detention at Bimberi, and is the outgoing Deputy Chair of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body.
“Indigenous communities understand the trauma and hardship that lead to crime, “said Ms McGrady
“Please listen to us. We are ready to work with the justice system on better outcomes.
“At every stage of the justice system, from diversion to detention to parole, there are opportunities to change the trajectory of a person's life and to help them heal.
“Our criminal justice system seems to fail people at every stage, which is why we are seeing a significant majority of offenders return to the system.
“Incarceration is a big blow to anyone. People awaiting conviction in the ACT are locked up too long while the system drags its feet. Worse, rehabilitation programs aren’t available for those on remand.
“For an Indigenous person on remand, we need to provide immediate, culturally safe counselling that may prevent a lifetime of incarceration, helplessness and hopelessness.
“But that’s just not happening. We aren’t intervening when and where we need to. We need to give people in our community new pathways to a better life.”
Mark Richardson, candidate for Ginninderra and Officer in Charge of ACT Road Policing, said he had seen firsthand the consequences of a failing system.
“We have a revolving door criminal justice system,” said Mr Richardson.
“Police officers are repeatedly coming into contact with the same offenders, which isn’t good for anyone. Insufficient funding for justice reinvestment means criminal reoffending is higher here than anywhere else in Australia.
“ACT Policing is buckling under the strain of a system that’s failing to rehabilitate offenders and ensure the safety of our community.
“Our police force is not equipped to do the work we are expected to do. The workload is unrelenting and unsustainable.
“On average, 20 policing call-outs per day are related to mental health issues or family violence in Canberra. What are we doing to turn the tap off when it comes to mental health and FV-related crime?
“We need a comprehensive independent review of our criminal justice system to depoliticise the safety of our community and get to the bottom of what’s going wrong in the ACT.”
The leader of Independents for Canberra, Thomas Emerson, said the group was proud to stand behind Ms McGrady and Mr Richardson in calling for a review of the ACT’s criminal justice system.
“We should be deeply ashamed of the level of Indigenous over-representation in our criminal justice system,” said Thomas Emerson, candidate for Kurrajong.
“When it comes to incarceration, it’s worse for you to be Indigenous in Canberra than anywhere else in the country.
“The data flies in the face of our claim to being the most progressive jurisdiction in Australia.
“Yesterday the ACT Attorney-General celebrated ‘good progress’ toward addressing issues in our criminal justice system. But the Productivity Commission’s latest figures show rates of reoffending are increasing.
“We’re told recidivism is going down but the numbers show repeat offending is going up.
“How can we solve our problems without being honest about their existence? Continuing with business as usual is not an option.”
Over 40 per cent of inmates at The Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC) report untreated mental health issues at the time of incarceration and roughly 30 per cent have an intellectual disability.
The ACT has Australia’s highest recidivism rates, with 63.7 percent of offenders released from prison returning to corrective services within two years. This number increased in 2022-23. According to the ABS, 80 per cent of inmates in the ACT have experienced prior imprisonment, with the number climbing to over 90 per cent for Indigenous inmates – also the highest rate in the country.
Indigenous people comprise 27 per cent of the ACT prison population but only two per cent of the overall population. The ACT has the highest Indigenous imprisonment gap in Australia, with Indigenous Canberrans 24.6 times more likely to be incarcerated than non-Indigenous Canberrans.
In 2022-23, ACT Policing attended 4,166 mental health related incidents and 3,308 family violence incidents.
Quotes attributable to Tanya Keed, outgoing Chair of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body
“I have spent many years working directly with inmates at AMC.
“There’s a major lack of diversional and rehabilitation programs supporting detainees on release back into community.
“We need sufficient culturally-sensitive wraparound services to break cycles of poverty, substance abuse, trauma and crime in community. We are not breaking these cycles, which is why our people are going backwards.
“The Attorney-General said he wanted to build communities, not prisons. How is this possible when detainees are not rehabilitated before re-entering our communities?”
Quotes attributable to Tom McLuckie, Justice Reform Advocate
“I fully support a comprehensive independent inquiry into the ACT’s criminal justice system.
“For many years, it has been apparent that our current approach to reoffending, including intervention and diversion for youth offending, is not working.
“We need to invest in frontline support services and intervention. The government is spending more on academic research than some of the most critical programs, such as Justice Housing.
“Our reoffending rates are now higher than they were 12 years ago. Indigenous incarceration has increased by over 250 per cent during that period.
“The Auditor-General has reported on the failures of healthcare at AMC, in particular mental health, and we continue to breach our own Human Rights Act in having remand prisoners detained beside sentenced prisoners.
“I have spent the last two years trying to get the government to take this seriously but I’ve been ignored at every opportunity. Only a complete independent review of the entire criminal justice system can move us forward.”
Media Contact:
Annie Frisch | 0410 738 610 | [email protected]
More details are available at www.independentsforcanberra.com/policy