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Increasing Indigenous prison rates requires a rethink
New data released yesterday revealing a further increase in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people incarcerated in Victoria is evidence that further work is needed to meet the specific needs of these groups in the justice system, says Jesuit Social Services. Quarterly Corrective Services statistics published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics…
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Bail Amendment Bill will help vulnerable young people
Jesuit Social Services congratulates the Victorian Government on the passing of the Bail Amendment Bill 2015, which will help address the alarming increase in the number of children arrested and held on remand in Victoria. “Most young offending is episodic, transitory and unlikely to constitute a risk to the safety and welfare of the community,”…
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CatholicCare, Jesuit Social Services and MacKillop Family Services have offered to lead a coordinated response to house and care for the 267 asylum seekers at risk of being returned to Nauru, following Melbourne Catholic Archbishop Denis Hart’s call for action from the Catholic community. “CatholicCare, MacKillop Family Services and Jesuit Social Services have previously collaborated…
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High Court decision a violation of human rights
Jesuit Social Services has strongly condemned the High Court’s ruling that more than 200 people seeking asylum, including a number of babies born in Australia, can be sent from the mainland to Nauru. “Australia’s punitive and inhumane policies surrounding people seeking asylum have long been condemned internationally, including at the UN Human Rights Council,” says…
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Changes to Bail Act welcome after children unintentionally snagged in tightening net
Jesuit Social Services welcomes changes to Bail introduced into the Victorian Parliament on Wednesday 25 November to address the alarming increase in vulnerable children being held in remand despite a 14 per cent drop in the number of young offenders. Jesuit Social Services acting CEO Sally Parnell says that previous changes to the Bail Act…
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Reducing reoffending the key to creating safer communities: Ombudsman report
Jesuit Social Services today welcomes findings of the Victorian Ombudsman’s Investigation into the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners in Victoria, which recommends a whole-of-government approach focused on reducing reoffending. “We know that our prison system is overworked and overcrowded, and that more than half of the people in Victoria’s prisons have previously served a custodial…
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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. “We know from a series of reports and our own experience working with people in prisons…
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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. Backed by leading Catholic peak organisations and convened by Jesuit Social Services, CAPSA aims to change hearts and minds across Australia in support of the abolition of harsh asylum…
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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. The state’s prison population has been increasing rapidly: increasing by 12 per cent…
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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 past decade. Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that…