Outcome

On 11 August 2016, the State Government unveiled an ambitious strategy to improve community safety and address reoffending.

Reducing Reoffending: 10% by 2020 aims to achieve a 10% reduction in the number of people who return to the correctional system by 2020.

The Strategic Policy Panel were tasked to investigate best practice in correctional services policy and practice and to identify strategies that cold impact and help reduce rates of reoffending promoting rehabilitation and reintegration outcomes.

Following four months of work, the Strategic Policy Panel has provided to the State Government with 36 recommendations that focus on achieving the targeted reduction in reoffending by 2020.

The recommendations provide a holistic response to reoffending and focus on improving community safety.

The report contains six overarching strategies which outline a whole-of-system change to approaching the management of offenders.

The six strategies are:

1. Successful return to the community with individual case management plans for all offenders from system entry to six months after release.
2. Employment and industry where partnerships are to be developed between the Department for Correctional Services (DCS) and the local business sector to improve post custody employment opportunities.
3. Prioritising target cohorts to ensure programs are tailored to women, those on short sentences those on remand and those within the community to achieve best results.
4. A strategy for Aboriginal offenders to ensure targeted and culturally appropriate services and programs.
5. An agency response that allows for internal change with the culture, resources, capabilities and structure required to achieve the target.
6. Partnerships and collaboration with other government agencies and the public and to ensure the successful delivery of programs and services.

With 46% of those that leave prison return to the system within two years, the successful transition from prison back into the community is of paramount importance

The State Government will respond to the strategy in the first half of 2017 with an action plan that outlines the implementation of recommendations that the government decides to act on.

A copy of the report is available here (PDF 4.7MB).

Further information

Warren Mundine's Op-ed (PDF 30 KB)

News release (PDF 80KB)