We should be concerned about conditions for prisoners. Why? The obvious answer is that if the recidivism rate is high then the system is not working.
A young unkempt man presented to the community centre at which I worked as a volunteer Chaplain. Struggling to make conversation, wanting to be left alone yet attending because of his needs, he was a sorry and sad sight. Head down, clothes ill-fitting, his story gradually came out. He was a very recently released prisoner, had moved back to the accommodation he had previously left, had no money, no job, no food and his case worker was no help. His accommodation had been trashed while he was in prison, furniture gone. He was agitated on speaking about his needs, which included prescription medication to help stabilise his mental state. He had no ID, had gone to the local government health agency to get help, was refused help because he had no ID, he became agitated due to his missing medication which he was there to try and access, and was escorted from the facility by security. He had been out of prison for three days, but told me that he would do something to go back, because he was fed, got his medications and didn’t have to think.
A mother came to me. Her son was being released on probation. She was scared to have him at home, but if he went back to his partner’s house he would get back on drugs and break his parole conditions. His case worker found him temporary accommodation, short-term in a share house, which he hated so he left every morning for either his mother’s or the partner’s home.
Neither of these men had the slightest possibility of getting a job in their current circumstances. Neither of them had been prepared for reintegration into the community. In trying to work with them it was obvious that they received little ongoing support and had dropped straight back into the lives that caused the problems. As the 2021 Productivity Commission report states “some of the collateral consequences of imprisonment on individuals may reinforce the pre-conditions that often get people into prison in the first place” (p.65).
I regularly meet with an incarcerated man who has given me some disappointing insight into our prison system. On his incarceration it was suggested that he participate in some form of training, which obviously can have many benefits. He began a cooking course, which he grew to anticipate and somewhat enjoy. It was suddenly cancelled without notice as the Prison had changed providers, the new provider deeming this particular course costly and unnecessary.
The Corrections Victoria website states that to improve a prisoner’s chance of employment on release, they are encouraged to do courses, provided by a local TAFE provider. I have done and also taught a few courses in my years and generally these days it is a basic requirement to have internet access. My acquaintance told me of a group of prisoners who had applied for a course to do with the building trade, looking towards getting employment when they were released. After their applications were successful and they paid for the course themselves, they were told that they could not have the internet access required to do the online course work. A closer inspection of the Corrections Victoria website says that although eligible prisoners may be permitted to have a computer in their cell for study, “Victorian prisoners do not have access to the internet or email services”. The Productivity Commission found that more than 30% of prisoners take up some sort of training whilst incarcerated, with 20% participating in accredited vocational courses (p.66). I wonder whether these numbers include courses such as anger management or alcohol and other drugs education, which, although helpful, would not qualify anyone for work.
Norway, a country with low recidivism of around 20%, has a focus on programs designed to rehabilitate, educate and entertain prisoners, aiming to return them to the outside world as better people than when they arrived. The punishment for these prisoners is solely the loss of freedom. They are given a healthy diet, access to entertainment, work and education. Programs run during the day and also evenings. Prisoners are expected to work or study during the day, but have options at night for relaxation or participation in programs. Just as in Australia, cells and facilities are basic, but opportunity abounds, the prisoners feeling that they are treated with respect.
In the attempt to prevent or deter recidivism, America has been responsible for some harsh conditions for prisoners, such as a notorious tent prison, set up by Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio. Inmates were housed in tents in the desert where temperatures could exceed 54 degrees Celsius. They worked in chain gangs, something rarely seen in America beyond 1955. The main tools for rehabilitation appear to have been humiliation and deprivation of basic human rights, and the facility was condemned as inhumane by Amnesty International. It seems the ‘experiment’ was allowed and encouraged to continue for 20 years because of those who believe prisoners need to be punished beyond just losing their freedom. The finding of a committee headed by Grant Wood, a Republican Attorney General, was that there was “no proof” that the harsh treatment delivered by the facility reduced recidivism. The recidivism rate in America in the first year of release is 44 per cent and can be as high as 60-75 per cent in some states. The lack of support for rehabilitated prisoners is considered to blame.
Journalist Alexander Reynolds went undercover in one of America’s worst prisons, and one of the things that impacted him most on his ‘release’ was that people on the outside do not care about conditions, rehabilitation or brutality in prisons. I have experienced this amongst the community also. Possibly media led, there is a misconception that some prisons have luxurious conditions with swimming pools and 5-star meals and prisoners live a life of ease and tranquillity. This is far from the truth.
We should be concerned about conditions for prisoners. Why? The obvious answer is that if the recidivism rate is high then the system is not working. The Productivity Commission Research Paper, 2021 states that recidivism rates in Australia are increasing, from 55% in 2010 to 59% in 2020. The number of those who returned to prison within two years of release rose from 40% in 2011-12 to 46% in 2019-20 (p.42). So not only is our recidivism rate high, but it is increasing. If prisoners on release feel they have no alternative but to commit another crime to get back in to relative security, something is wrong. This must change. In addition if the prison system itself is a risk factor for developing permanent debilitating conditions such as dementia, this is further reason for change.
Anne Irwin
Anne Irwin is a volunteer Community Chaplain in Geelong in Victoria. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Dementia Care and a diploma of Chaplaincy. Her voluntary work brings her into contact with current and former prisoners and provides reliable anecdotal and experiential influences to recognise the need for change in our prisons.