Justice Reinvestment will benefit communities

The Australian Greens have welcomed research released today by the Australian Institute of Criminology noting the urgent need for place-based interventions to reduce crime and victimisation in our most disadvantaged communities.

The research mapped postal areas in Queensland with a high number of chronic offenders and found that 10 per cent of postal areas carry more than half the total cost burden of chronic offenders.

Australian Greens spokesperson for Legal Affairs, Senator Penny Wright, said, “This research affirms what the Greens have been saying about the need for a Justice Reinvestment approach – that a large number of offenders come from a small number of disadvantaged communities and we urgently need to invest in programs and services to address the underlying causes of crime in the communities that need it most.

“The research shows these communities often have a high proportion of Indigenous youth, high levels of disadvantage and are located in remote areas.

“This kind of mapping is the first essential step towards a wider Justice Reinvestment approach.

“We urgently need more research like this to identify the communities across Australia that would benefit most from investment in ‘front end’ interventions which aim to prevent people from offending or reoffending in the first place.

“Prisons place a huge cost burden on Australian taxpayers. Investing in community crime prevention will be good not only for community safety but for our budgets.”