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New legislation will not create safer communities
Legislation introduced this week by the Victorian Government to create new offences, penalties and minimum sentences for carjacking and home invasions fails to create safer communities, says Jesuit Social Services. “The introduction of new offences is not supported by crime statistics which actually show the crime rate is falling in Victoria,” says Jesuit Social Services…
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Indigenous incarceration rates require urgent rethink
Jesuit Social Services has urged the Federal Government to commit to justice targets to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the criminal justice system, in light of a new report that outlines that the country’s Indigenous incarceration rate has risen by 52 per cent over the past decade. The report,…
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Next NT Government must prevent vulnerable children from becoming entrenched in youth justice system
Less than three weeks away from the Northern Territory election, and with the Territory’s youth justice system in the national spotlight, Jesuit Social Services has urged the incoming Government to prevent vulnerable children from becoming entrenched in the youth justice system. Jesuit Social Services’ election platform, Creating a just and safe Northern Territory, calls on…
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Jesuit Social Services joins calls to #BringThemHere
Jesuit Social Services has joined the calls to immediately bring people seeking on Nauru to Australia in light of the leaked ‘Nauru files’ which allege countless cases of abuse, sexual assault and self-harm of people in Australia’s care. “Jesuit Social Services believes that the mandatory and indefinite detention of people seeking asylum in Australia, and…
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The Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA) has today called on the Federal government to establish a Royal Commission following allegations of countless cases of abuse, sexual assault and self-harm of people seeking asylum on Nauru. The leaked ‘Nauru Files’ by the Guardian Australia, details more than 2,000 incidents involving people placed on Nauru…
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Lack of secure housing for people with disabilities the key factor behind re-offending
With the treatment of prisoners a key issue across the country following revelations from within the Northern Territory’s youth detention system, a group of people with acquired brain injuries (ABIs) and contact with the criminal justice system have cited a lack of housing and support for people with disability as the number one factor behind…
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Royal Commission into the child protection and youth detention systems of the Northern Territory
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the Federal Government’s announcement of the Royal Commission into the child protection and youth detention systems of the Northern Territory, following the ABC’s Four Corners investigation into the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre and its treatment of vulnerable young people. “We have long advocated for better treatment for young people in…
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Federal Government must follow Opposition’s lead in closing the gap
Australia can only begin to address its shocking over-representation of Aboriginal people in prison when both major parties commit to targets aimed at reducing incarceration rates, says Jesuit Social Services. Following the Federal Opposition’s commitment to deliver a nationally coordinated approach to close the gap in Aboriginal incarceration if elected, Jesuit Social Services calls on…
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Australia’s leaders must develop more humane responses to people seeking protection
The Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA) has today issued an open letter to Australia’s political leaders urging them to develop more humane responses towards people seeking protection in Australia. The letter, sent to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Richard…
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Positive signs as Victorian imprisonment rates stabilise
New data released today showing Victoria’s rates of imprisonment have stabilised is a sign that the pressure on the state’s criminal justice system is beginning to ease, says Jesuit Social Services. Quarterly Corrective Services statistics published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that Victoria’s rate of imprisonment in the March quarter 2016 was 137…