Media releases Archives - Page 29 of 30

Overcrowding in prisons the backdrop to riots
- 7 July 2015
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…
Launch of Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA)
- 15 June 2015
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…
Slowing of growth in prisoner numbers welcome but more reform needed
- 11 June 2015
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…
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…
Federal Budget includes youth employment initiatives, but will not address disadvantage
- 13 May 2015
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. “We are pleased that new initiatives in the Youth Employment Strategy will…
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…