The Australian government spends nearly $3 billion a year on prisons. Of the total prison population 26% (or 7,656) are Aboriginal offenders. A school of thought from America known as Justice Reinvestment proposes diverting some of the millions of dollars spent locking up offenders on preventative programs. The concept of Justice Reinvestment is gaining traction in Australia. Justice Reinvestment’s localised, community focused approach has seen it touted as an appropriate crime prevention strategy for Indigenous communities. Proponents argue we should be building communities not prisons. But is Justice Reinvestment really a ‘panacea’ to Indigenous over-imprisonment?

CIS Research Fellow Sara Hudson will discuss these issues in this next event in our Meet the Researcher series.