Formulae - for Catastrophe !

It has happened in many other parts of the world.   Overcrowded prisons and under staffed supervision have led to riots where fires have raged, hostages have been taken - and the aftermath has been a lot of dead people.  It seems that all is not well in the New South Wales prison system.

At present this state's gaols contain 10,917 prisoners and it is expected that the numbers will increase to more than 12,000 by next March.    The bail system has just been revised to try and relieve overcrowding but prison officers are warning that even so - the numbers are forcing three prisoners to share cells designed for two and the ratio of officers can be as low as twenty supervising three hundred inmates.  As a consequence, pressures are building and prisoners are spending more time locked down than the system allows.   There is talk of a ban on receiving new inmates to relieve this pressure.

The public is already expressing concern that the new bail laws are allowing people accused of serious crime to remain free in the community in place of remaining in prison on remand.   The government is trying to reign in the ever expanding cost of the prison system and yet the public expectation of curbing crime demands tougher action and a " lock them up " mentality.    If judges and magistrates hand down lenient sentences they are criticised and accused of being " soft " on crime.

Perhaps it is time to review this whole aspect of punishment for crime.  There certainly are offenders who are dangerous to the public and need to be securely locked away for the full term of their sentence, but do we really need to apply the same criteria to offenders whose crime is driving a car while their license is suspended - or who were caught growing a Marijuana plant in their backyard ?

Secure prisons cost a lot of money to build and to staff.   Could the same purpose be achieved by the wider use of " prison farms " - where those convicted of social crimes serve out their time with minimum supervision and a high degree of trust ?   Should a prisoner disregard that trust and escape, the penalty would be to serve the rest of the sentence - plus an extension for the escape - within the much less friendly and comfortable confines of the traditional prison system.

It is the loss of personal freedom that chafes most people committed to prison.   Many social crimes are more an error of judgement - often where alcohol or drugs are involved -  and the offender will gladly  trade a lighter sentence under less harsh conditions with the obligation to obey the rules that go with time in a prison farm as an alternative to regular prison.

Such prison farms would contribute to their cost by producing meat and vegetables to supply the state's hospitals and other institutions - including the regular prison system.  Not all offenders would be suitable for inclusion in such a scheme, but those that are would certainly take the pressure off our present overcrowded gaols - and put something back into society rather than just become a drain on finances