Media releases Archives - Page 16 of 30

Growth in indigenous prisoners almost three times that of non-indigenous prisoners
- 26 May 2015
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 past decade. Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that…
Prison spending increased $461.9 million in four years; equivalent to budget of 96 schools
- 5 May 2015
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. Today’s State Budget revealed that an additional $156.0 million will be spent on the criminal justice system over the next year, making it the fifth successive budget to…
Rural Victoria missing out on benefits of youth diversion
- 13 April 2015
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. Jesuit Social Services is excited about this initiative and is calling on the state government to ensure…
Seventy per cent increase in female prisoners evidence of a failed system
- 6 March 2015
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. “On a day where gender equality is on the global agenda, it is extremely disappointing to see Victoria is imprisoning more women than…
Recent prison reforms undermining previous achievements
- 26 February 2015
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. In its recently released state election platform Building a just and safe NSW, the organisation…
Money spent on prisons could prevent crime before it occurs
- 24 February 2015
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 levels of crime. The organisation’s cost analysis…