Inquiry Into Imprisonment and Recidivism © Queensland Productivity Commission 2019
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2019 DRAFT REPORT Inquiry into Imprisonment and Recidivism © Queensland Productivity Commission 2019 The Queensland Productivity Commission supports and encourages the dissemination and exchange of information. However, copyright protects this document. The Queensland Productivity Commission has no objection to this material being reproduced, made available online or electronically but only if it is recognised as the owner of the copyright and this material remains unaltered. This report is available online and in PDF format on our website: http://www.qpc.qld.gov.au WEB qpc.qld.gov.au TEL (07) 3015 5111 email [email protected] ABN 18 872 336 955 Have your say Imprisonment and recidivism: Have your say The Treasurer has directed the Queensland Productivity Commission (the Commission) to Key dates undertake an inquiry into imprisonment and recidivism in Queensland. Issues paper released 13 September 2018 This draft report provides an opportunity for consultation on the issues raised by the inquiry— Initial consultation and, in particular, on our preliminary analysis, September–October 2018 findings and recommendations. Draft report released The final report will be prepared after further 1 February 2019 consultation and will be provided to the Submissions due Queensland Government in August. 17 April 2019 Final report submitted to the Queensland Make a submission Government 1 August 2019 The Commission invites all interested parties to make a submission on the draft report. Submissions are due by close of business 17 April 2019. They can be lodged online or via post: The Queensland Productivity Commission is an Imprisonment and recidivism inquiry independent statutory body that provides Queensland Productivity Commission policy advice on complex economic and PO Box 12112 regulatory issues. George St QLD 4003 The Commission has an advisory role and Submissions are treated as public documents and operates independently from the Queensland are published on the Commission's website. If your Government—its views, findings and submission contains genuinely confidential recommendations are based on its own information, please provide the confidential analysis and judgments. material in a clearly marked separate attachment. Further information on the Commission and its Contacts functions can be obtained from the Enquiries regarding this project can be made by Commission’s website www.qpc.qld.gov.au telephone (07) 3015 5111 or online at www.qpc.qld.gov.au/contact-us Queensland Productivity Commission i Foreword Foreword In September 2018, the Queensland Government directed the Queensland Productivity Commission to undertake an inquiry into imprisonment and recidivism. This report summarises our early findings and nominates areas where further information is sought. Despite declining crime rates, the imprisonment of Queenslanders is escalating. Concerning trends include the growth in the rate of imprisonment of women, which doubled the rate of men over the last ten years, and the significant and growing over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. These matters are not unique to Queensland and reflect wider Australian and international trends. In direct financial terms, imprisonment costs the Queensland community almost a billion dollars every year. Its social costs, although harder to measure, are much greater. Incarceration has profound impacts on prisoners, their families and the community— loss of employment, housing, relationships, as well as mental health problems and potential criminogenic effects—all of which increase the risk of reoffending. In this report, we ask whether community safety is best served by continuing the current approach. Is there a case for some crimes to be punished with non-custodial options? Could better outcomes be achieved with greater attention to rehabilitation and reintegration? Would some offences be better treated as medical issues than criminal offences? Should victims be empowered by building in restitution and restoration options? Early indications are that the community may actually be made safer by reforming current practices, and we are seeking further information to allow us to complete the inquiry. This report reflects the contributions of over 400 stakeholders, representing a broad cross-section of Queenslanders—government agencies, victim peak bodies, prisoner advocates, unions, the judiciary, corrections officers, prisoners, Indigenous peak bodies, and academics. We applaud the willingness of stakeholders to seek better outcomes for victims, offenders, and the community. Finally, we would like to thank the staff of the Commission for their commitment and professionalism in the preparation of this material. Kim Wood Bronwyn Fredericks Principal Commissioner Commissioner (Presiding Commissioner) February 2019 Queensland Productivity Commission ii Contents Contents Imprisonment and recidivism: Have your say i Foreword ii Overview vii Draft recommendations xxxiii 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 What has the Commission been asked to do? 2 1.2 Our approach 2 1.3 Consultation 3 1.4 Report structure 4 Part A Background 5 2.0 Conceptual framework 7 2.1 Introduction 9 2.2 Objectives 9 2.3 The role of government 11 2.4 Are current policies and programs effective at keeping communities safe? 12 2.5 Are there more effective and efficient policies that would improve outcomes? 14 2.6 Are there ways to improve decision-making across and within government, and encourage innovations to improve efficiency? 16 2.7 A framework for considering policy options 17 3.0 An overview of the system 19 3.1 The criminal justice system in Queensland 21 3.2 Criminal justice comprises two parts—making and enforcing criminal law 26 3.3 A system of interdependence and independence 30 4.0 State of play and how we got here 31 4.1 Introduction 33 4.2 A long-term decline in crime rates 33 4.3 Rising rates of imprisonment 37 4.4 Drivers of the increasing adult prison population 42 4.5 A comparison with the 1990s increase in imprisonment 46 5.0 Recidivism—trends and measurement 49 5.1 Introduction 51 5.2 Available measures 51 5.3 Trends 52 Queensland Productivity Commission iii Contents 5.4 Constructing a measure of recidivism 57 5.5 Conclusion 59 6.0 Benefits and costs of imprisonment 61 6.1 Introduction 63 6.2 The CBA approach 63 6.3 What are the benefits of imprisonment? 64 6.4 What are the costs of imprisonment? 67 6.5 What may the net impact be? An illustrative example 69 6.6 Alternatives to imprisonment 70 Part B Analysis of the system 73 7.0 Prevention and early intervention 75 7.1 Introduction 77 7.2 Types of prevention and early intervention 78 7.3 Challenges with prevention and early intervention 80 7.4 Effectiveness of prevention and early intervention 82 7.5 Prevention and early intervention in Queensland 83 7.6 Where are the opportunities in Queensland? 85 8.0 Diversionary options 91 8.1 The reason for diversion 93 8.2 Diversion in Queensland 94 8.3 Some potential directions for reform 94 9.0 Reducing the scope of crime 101 9.1 Introduction 103 9.2 Costs of criminalisation 103 9.3 Does Queensland make excessive use of the criminal law? 105 9.4 How to consider which acts should be criminalised 108 9.5 Reform options 111 9.6 Some preliminary analysis 114 9.7 The way forward 122 10.0 A victim-focused system 125 10.1 Introduction 127 10.2 Current assistance provided to victims 127 10.3 Victims remain peripheral to the system 130 10.4 Consequences of the current system 131 10.5 A victim-focused sentencing reform 134 Queensland Productivity Commission iv Contents 10.6 Potential impacts of a victim-focused system 138 10.7 The way forward 140 11.0 Increasing non-prison sentencing options 143 11.1 Assessment of custodial and non-custodial penalties 145 11.2 Extending non-custodial sentencing options 149 11.3 Increased use of low security facilities 153 11.4 Net widening 154 11.5 Better information to support sentencing 155 11.6 Judicial accountability 157 12.0 Reducing the remand population 163 12.1 Issues with remand in custody 165 12.2 Trends in remand 167 12.3 Why is remand growing? 168 12.4 Opportunities for reform 171 13.0 In-prison rehabilitation 179 13.1 Introduction 181 13.2 Lessons from overseas 181 13.3 How well does in-prison rehabilitation work in Queensland? 184 13.4 Improving in-prison rehabilitation 188 13.5 Preliminary assessment 192 14.0 Reintegration of prisoners 195 14.1 The value of reintegration services 197 14.2 Existing reintegration services 198 14.3 The effectiveness of reintegration services 202 14.4 Issues with reintegration services 206 Part C System reforms 209 15.0 Coordinating rehabilitation and reintegration 211 15.1 Introduction 213 15.2 Features of effective throughcare 214 15.3 Assessment of Queensland's existing model 216 15.4 Reform directions 217 15.5 Reforms in Queensland and elsewhere 222 15.6 Conclusion 225 16.0 Improving decision-making and allocating funding 229 16.1 Introduction 231 Queensland Productivity Commission v Contents 16.2 The current decision-making framework 232 16.3 Options for improving decision-making 239 16.4 What is the right option for Queensland? 247 17.0 Appendices 251 Appendix A Terms of reference 252 Appendix B Submissions 254 Appendix C Consultations 256 Appendix D Previous Reviews 259 Appendix E From offences to prison 264 Appendix F Empirical evidence on the effectiveness of prevention and early intervention programs 265 Appendix G Definition and classification of crime 268 18.0 Glossary 283 18.1 Table of acronyms and initialisations 290 References 291 Queensland Productivity Commission vi Overview Overview Queensland Productivity Commission vii Overview Queensland Productivity Commission viii Overview Key points • The rate of imprisonment in Queensland—the number of prisoners per head of population—has increased by 44 per cent between 2012 and 2018.