Incarceration

• Why releasing some prisoners is essential to stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19)

  9th Apr 2020

  To prevent prisons becoming COVID-19 hotspots, Prof Thalia Anthony argues that the only logical response is decarceration; an emergency measure that is necessary to protect both the health and wellbeing of prisoners and the wider community. Thalia highlights the particular vulnerability of  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners, and eventually their families and communities. Indigenous people who are exposed to infection in prisons will return to communities that are ill-equipped to respond to a COVID-19 outbreak; especially communities in regional and remote areas where there is a glaring lack of health services and resources.

• Legal and welfare checks should be extended to save Aboriginal lives in custody

  12th Sep 2019

  Professor Thalia Anthony argues that to prevent deaths in custody, a custody notification service must be properly funded and available to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody, including those who are detained in protective custody or following a paperless arrest.  

• Justice reinvestment: Key to reducing Indigenous incarceration

  6th Jun 2019

  Professor Tom Calma AO makes the case for justice reinvestment: a community-led, data-driven and place-based alternative to incarceration.