If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. ., -- ,~----- '. \\ )) • 'I, I CI?-.J:,;/!r ;~ ! National Criminal Justice Reference Service t:r,j S--=-flJ COSTS OF CRIME SERIES No.1 (' l-------~-....---... r/!,it nCJrs This microfiche was produced from documents received for inclusion in the NCJRS data base. Since NCJRS cannot exercise control over the physical condition of the documents submitted, the individual frame quality will v~ry. The resolution chart on this frame may be used to evaluate the document quality. 11111.0 THE COST OF IMP~SONMENT 111111.1 IN AUSTRALIA 111111.25 111111.4 111111.6 MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS·1963·A Microfilming procedures used to create this fiche comply with ! the standards set forth in 41CFR 101-11.504. by W. Clifford Points of view or opinions stated in this document are those of the author(s) and do not represent the official position or policies of the U. S. Department of Justice. , 1 National Institute of Justice , < United States Department of Justice Washington, D. C. 20531 11/B/84 "V" .- - -~---~--- --------~ _ _.._-------___-- ____ THE COST O~ IM~ISONMENT~USTRALIA By w. Cliffo;d* t ¥ ff~ Ie HOO~ i I ACQUU;;!TIONS '* Director, Australian Institut€. of Criminology 'u.' ____________,__________ --'-_~ _______________~ ____~ __~ ___________________ , • " :!" ',' I~ ~, t ~ ! , FOREWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This attempt to analyse the costs of imprisonment in Australia began as part of a larger study on the costs of crime which was deferred because of financial constraints imposed on the Institute over the past two or three years. Nevertheless, some work had been done before we had to relinquish the services of assistants and this is now being made available for. those who may be able to carry the study further forward. In presenting now what is available on costs of imprisonment it is necessary to make clear that this survey would not have been possible at all Without the cooperation and encouragement of the Commonwealth Grants CommiSSion and the Commissioners of Corrections in several States. U.S. Department of Justice 8 8 2 41 Nat/onal Inslftute of Jusl/ce This dOcument has been re rodu The obvious delay in publication has again been due to the pers?n or organization origin~ting i~e: ~)(actry ,as received from the In thIs dOcument are those of th . o~nts of vIew or Opinions stated '" Jreprt~sent the offiCial POSition or P~I~~~so~~ tahndNdo not necessarily reduced resources of the Institute which curtailed the staff time us Ice. e allonal Insfitute of PermisSion to reproduc tho availabl~ for its compilation and production. granted by e IS Copyrighted material has been U I' II _~ill~am Clifford/Australia 11 of ,./ _I.E..st~tute crimfn~n i to the National Criminal JUstice Aeference Service (NCJA; 11 ,iI' II ~;::;: Further reproduction outside of Ih N II sion of tr.d Copyright OWner. e CJAS system requires permls- II j( 1/i. li ij I' II,I I, v I ~-. --------------~------- ----"-- - 2 - 1963/64 - 1973/74 and the costs of prisons in Western Australia have INTRODUCTION been closely scrutinized by Prisgrove.(2) The only detailed comparative study of prison expenditure in the various jurisdictions, however, is that undertaken by Rook and Demetrious, (3) and which Frequent reference is made in the relevant criminological is largely based on expenditure during 1975/76. Their approach has literature to the fact that prisons are comparatively expensive been generally followed in the present analysis. institutions to build and maintain. That they get only a marginal share of public revenue, that they are expensive, under-financed, AUSTRALIAN PRISON SYSTEMS - A BRIEF OVERVIEW wasteful and unnecessary, yet they are being used in some countries more than ever and calls for retribution make it clear that they are Each State and the Northern Territory maintains its own unlikely to suddenly disappear. prison system although the present study does not include the latter jurisdiction for reasons explained below. The Australian Capital Just how expensive are the prisons? What is the cost of Territory has a remand centre only, persons sentenced to imprisonment keeping an inmate in prison? How much do non-offenders or those who in that jurisdiction serving their sentences in New South Wales. offend but are not imprisoned pay to maintain those who are? The Persons who commit offences against the Commonwealth and who receive answers to these important questions often remain elusive and in the prison sentences are detained in a State Institution, the Commonwealth full sense of costs and benefits there will be difficulties in Government offsetting the appropriate costs incurred by the States. quantifying a great many of the factors. In Australia there has been very little research into prison expenditure, either within a In three States, New South Wales, South Australia and particular jurisdiction or between jurisdictions; there is a time Western Australia, the authority responsible for prisons/correctional gap between expenditure and publication which dates the material by services is an autonomous department. Prisons in Queensland are the time it appears and there are geographical differences which administered by the Department of Community Welfare Services while in affect the analysis. What follows is an attempt to bring earlier work Victoria they are the responsibility of the Department of Community a little closer to the present. Welfare. On the other hand the Tasmanian prison system is administered by the Attorney-General's Department. Kononewsky(!) has examined broad patterns of e,~penditt.\re on gaols and reformatories in the Australian States duril'ig the period ,_____ r ______ _ - 3 - - 4 - Probation and parole services in New South Wales, Victoria These are only some of the differences between the criminal and South Australia are provided by the relevant prisons/correctional justic.e practices in the various jurisdictions which must be borne authorities whereas in the other States these functions are performed in mind when comparing patterns of prison expenditure in Australia. by anoth er d epartmen.t Work release programmes are currently being These variations and others such as those pertaining to prisoner implemented by prisons/correctional authorities in all States except classification, remission procedures, prisoners' pay and academic, Victoria and South Australia while periodic detention is a semi- vocational and social-recreational activities available to prisoners custodial alternat i ve t 0 ordinary imprisonment in New South Wales, will have Some effect 011 financial outlays for prison/correctional Victoria and Queensland. facilities and services to ascertain. As this is written the Victorian Department of Community METHODOLOGY Welfare operates an attendance centre programme in lieu of a work release scheme, and in Tasmania and Western Australia courts may This is essentially a descriptive study without the economic impose on offenders work or community service orders as an alternative sophistication of opportunity costs or conversions of time to money to imprisonment.(4) values. In all States except Victoria at the time of this study the No attempt was made to follow through the cost~ of minimum age at which a person may be sentenced to imprisonment, imprisonment to the offender himself, to his family and ultimately, allowing for judicial discretion, is 18 years. Judges in Victoria through loss of man-hours and welfare payments, to society itself~ may eith er sentence offenders aged 17 to 21 years to a period of For this kind of calculation far more resources would have been detention in either a prison or youth training centre. Non-parole need~d than were available for the inquiry. However, it was periods or minimum sen t ences are commonly set in New South Wales, considered necessary to identify recurring expenditure for items such Victoria and Western Australia whereas in South Australia minimum as salaries/wages, maintenance, consummables and general sentences are determined only with respect to serious offences. In administration as well as capital expenditure for con.struction, of Queensland non-parole periods are not usually set, although judges facilities, site works and plant and equipment. Furthermore, it was may make recommendations which are not binding; while in Tasmania thought advisable to determine, insofar as possible, the extent to no minimum sentences are d e t ermi n ed • Prisone,rs in South Australia, : which such recurrent expenditure is offset by revenue, particularly Queensland and Tasmania may apply for parole after serving half their by the production value of the work which is performed by prisoners. sentence. Lh' ,~ .. - - 5 - - 6 - The main sources of such information are the annual reports It cannot be over-emphasized that due to problems of data of the prison/correctional authorities but unfortunately, albeit availability and compatability the present study had to be ~ased on understandably, there is no uniformity in the documentation of prisons statistics from three distinct and disparate sources. These have, expenditure and revenue in these reports. The Australian Bureau of as far as possible, been integrated in order to develop a "composite" Statistics has not published "uniform" prison expenditures for the picture of prison costs. It would have been highly desirable to use a various States for some years, (5) but even if such data were single source of data and thus overcome the numerous problems of published there would remain considerable difficulties in making variations in definition, accounting procedures, classification and further adjustments to ensure that items of expenditure were, at least the like. Furthermore it would have been useful to consider all costs reasonably, comparable. between States over a span of several years but again this was not possible as uniform and adequate data at the desired level of detail The present study therefore is largely based on costs during could not be obtained.