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Smart justice: QLD Productivity Commission recommendations will create safer communities
31st Jan 2020
Implementing the recommendations made today by the Queensland Productivity Commission will keep the community safe while moving away from a failed punitive justice model, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
“Today’s Queensland Productivity Commission report makes some powerful recommendations that we urge the state government to implement,” said national criminal justice spokesperson, Greg Barns.
“Smart justice requires a wider range of sentencing options and more focus on restorative justice techniques to ensure better outcomes and the more effective use of tax-payer money.
“Prison is an expensive option and there is very little capacity to participate in rehabilitation. We know that almost 50 per cent of prisoners will re-offend within two years of being released from prison.
“Many offences can be better addressed through a victim restitution and restoration system, targeted community-level interventions and greater use of diversionary approaches.
“It has also been clear for many years that criminal and law enforcement responses to the use of illicit drugs are not working. There is a global trend towards the decriminalisation of drug use and a focus on managing drug use as a health and lifestyle issue.
“Ruling out the decriminalisation of drug use flies in the face of global evidence which indicates that decriminalisation would lead to less drug use and reduce the number of crimes that are committed to feed addictions,” he said.
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