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Overcrowding in prisons the backdrop to riots
Severe overcrowding in Victoria’s prisons has created the kind of pressure cooker conditions in which riots are more likely, and should be considered as a contributing factor in any investigation of the Ravenhall riot, according to Jesuit Social Services....
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Launch of Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA)
The Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA) has been officially launched at the start of World Refugee Week, which runs from June 14 to 20....
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Slowing of growth in prisoner numbers welcome but more reform needed
The number of people in Victorian prisons increased by only 20 in the first quarter of 2015 after unprecedented growth in recent years, but Jesuit Social Services has warned that the current imprisonment rate is still unsustainable and systemic reform is needed....
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Growth in indigenous prisoners almost three times that of non-indigenous prisoners
Jesuit Social Services has reiterated calls for Closing the Gap targets to be extended to include driving down indigenous incarceration rates this Sorry Day, as data shows that the country’s indigenous prison population has grown by almost three times the rate of non-indigenous prisoners over the...
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Federal Budget includes youth employment initiatives, but will not address disadvantage
New measures to support vulnerable young people into employment outlined in this week’s Federal Budget are welcome, but a lack of an overarching strategy to tackle poverty and disadvantage will do little to assist vulnerable people, says Jesuit Social Services CEO Julie Edwards....
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Prison spending increased $461.9 million in four years; equivalent to budget of 96 schools
The Victorian state government has inherited a costly and ineffective criminal justice system in serious need of significant reform, according to Jesuit Social Services CEO Julie Edwards....
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Rural Victoria missing out on benefits of youth diversion
Jesuit Social Services recently received funding to operate a pilot program, in partnership with YSAS (Youth Support and Advocacy Service), aimed at diverting young offenders from the criminal justice system, which will be implemented in three different locations....
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Seventy per cent increase in female prisoners evidence of a failed system
Ahead of International Women’s Day (March 8), Jesuit Social Services has released new analysis revealing Victoria’s female prison population has grown by an astonishing 70 per cent in the past six years....
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Recent prison reforms undermining previous achievements
One month out from the New South Wales election, Jesuit Social Services says that the recent winding back of bail reforms and the introduction of mandatory sentencing undermine promising work in the criminal justice space in the past five years....
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Money spent on prisons could prevent crime before it occurs
Less than three months out from the new Victorian government’s first state budget, Jesuit Social Services has released new analysis showing a $626 million spike in prison spending over the past ten years: money that could be better spent on social services to build safer communities with lower...