MEDIA RELEASE
June 13, 2023
Smarter Justice for Safer Communities has called for the roll out of Law and Justice Groups and Community Courts to be accelerated as a priority, amid signs the Northern Territory’s swollen prison system is struggling to cope.
The community-led initiative has expressed concern over reports today that Territorians were facing lengthy delays in accessing legal advice while being remanded in the overcrowded Darwin Correctional Centre.
The Territory’s incarceration rate is 4.5 times higher than the national rate. As of the start of June, there were reportedly 1252 prisoners at the Darwin Correctional Centre, more than 200 more than it was designed to accommodate. More than half were being held on remand.
“This situation is symptomatic of the Northern Territory’s over-reliance on incarceration, which risks compounding the crime and justice issues we are facing,” said Smarter Justice for Safer Communities spokesperson Olga Havnen.
“When a person is in prison on remand – meaning they are either yet to face a trial or sentencing – they are denied access to support services they might need to address factors that make them at risk of coming into contact with the justice system in the first place, such as drug and alcohol counselling or behaviour programs.
“As a result, we have a justice system that is at the mercy of the revolving prison door – people come and go and, more often than not, they return to prison again within two years.”
Ms Havnen urged the Government to fast track, wherever possible, smarter justice approaches flagged in the recent NT Budget, such as expanded Alternative to Custody facilities in Alice Springs and Groote Eylandt, as well as the establishment of Law and Justice Groups and Community Courts in six communities.
“Community Courts in particular have significant potential to take pressure off the prison system as they will have the flexibility to deliver community-based orders in certain circumstances,” she said.
“These courts will also reduce the need for people in remote areas to travel away from home for matters to be heard.
“There are smarter ways to tackle the crime and justice challenge facing the Territory and we have examples right here of diversion and rehabilitation programs that do work and are making communities safer.
“We’ve seen this at Groote Eylandt, where youth offending has plummeted thanks to community-led diversion, and in Alice Springs, where women are turning their lives around thanks to the successful Alternative to Custody program.
“These smarter justice initiatives work because they can achieve what prison, with its revolving door, cannot – they tackle the underlying causes of and contributors to crime and stop the cycle of offending.”
Click here to read the NT News article.
For more information about Smarter Justice for Safer Communities go to www.smarterjustice.org.au
Media inquiries: Rebecca 0411 790 304
Smarter Justice for Safer Communities is a campaign that grew from the formation of the Northern Territory Aboriginal Justice Agreement – a historic commitment to improve justice outcomes and services for Aboriginal people. Smarter justice starts with acknowledging that the current system, with its overreliance on prisons, is not working. It is about rolling out and ramping up investment in the programs that do work to break the cycle of offending and contribute to safer communities.
Recent Comments