Posted: May 17, 2005

More jobs less prisons!

We know there is an indisputable relationship between crime rates and unemployment. The achievement and maintenance of full employment is the single most important anti-crime measure a government can take. While the costs of crime are large for individuals and communities they also impact on the government spending outcomes.

In a Productivity Commission report in 1999 (Report on Government Service Provision, vol. 1, Steering Committee for the Review of Commonwealth Service Provision, Melbourne), it was estimated that during 1997-98, the cost of imprisonment was $52,049 per prisoner per year. The actual cost increases significantly where the offender is considered violent. The Australian Criminology Institute (AIC) reports that the current cost of maximum-security imprisonment in Australia is approximately $80,000 per prisoner per year.

In the AIC review of Trends and Issue in crime and criminal justice series, No 30, they report on the growing prison population in Australia and the "the unparalleled growth in the costs associated with its maintenance." The authors note that:

The corresponding benefits derived from increased use of incarceration are difficult to quantify and many would argue that they are substantially less than perceived by the community and that imprisonment is not socially efficient. There is no evidence that greater imprisonment acts as a major deterrent to potential criminals, given the small detection rates for most crimes. It is often argued that imprisonment does not always succeed in rehabilitating criminals. It might be that protection, as much as any desire for revenge, is the reason why some sectors of society generally favour 'getting tough'.

So with that background, we read today in the Sydney Morning Herald that the NSW State Government is planning to fund 1000 new prison places. The article by Jonathan Pearlman reports that "prison population is expected to grow by about 11 per cent to 10,000 by 2008" As a consequence, the State Government has announced that it will spend $110 million in constructing new facilities. In addition, expansions to regional prisons will cost an additional $172.85 million up to 2010.

While any public infrastructure investment creates work, and in this case, it will be regionally distributed in part, there is little in the Goverment's announcement that will provide on-going jobs for potential and existing criminals. What is the best way to avoid this seemingly inevitable increase in incarceration rates (which are concentrated in the most disadvantaged demographic cohorts)? The best way is to provide full employment for the working age population and excellent public education for the children - there is no question about it.

So I would rather the Government spend money on the public schools they have allowed to run down and the other public infrastructure that supports on-going employment and also stop destroying jobs through public sector cut backs and private-public partnerships for big projects. The State Government should also lobby the Federal Government to immediately introduce a Job Guarantee which will ensure there are enough jobs available for the most disadvantaged workers. One hopes that the State Goverment contribution to employment creation in the upcoming State budget will be many times the amount they are prepared to pay to lock more citizens up. Then again, pigs might fly!

Blog entry posted by bill