If we are serious about rehabilitating prisoners and reducing reoffending, then education and integration back into the community are vital. Today, internet access is essential to achieve that.
If we want to see re-offending rates go down, a radical solution could be to train prisoners in how to start their own businesses.
Victoria is failing in relation to rehabilitation of prisoners and post-release support. The consequence is that more people are imprisoned, more often.
Approaches to crime that rely on punitive methods have proved to be ineffective and counter-productive. Rehabilitation programmes not only prevent crime, but are cost-effective and practical.
We simply don't know how many prisoners are released each year, nor their demographic characteristics. As a result, we cannot tailor services that would reduce ex-prisoners' risks of re-offending.
Some claim rising crime rates justify jailing more people, others that such policies cut crime. Evidence from around the world shows those claims are wrong and that we should be looking at inequality.