The SOAPBOX

Ladies and gentlemen, blokes and sheilas – roll up Territorians, one and all: I've got a great idea for you.

It's time to abolish prisons.

Don't roll your eyes, I am less-than-half joking and more-than-half serious.

Think about it: they do the crime, they do the time and you pay the bill.

According to 2004 figures quoted in this newspaper, it costs $163 per day to house a standard prisoner. That's $1141 a week. How many earn that much while working for a living?

Taxpayers get slugged much more for young offenders. For their crimes, we pay about $934 a day to feed, clothe, house, educate and counsel them in prison. That's $6538 per week.

And does prison actually rehabilitate prisoners? Productivity Commission figures released last week show the NT recidivism rate is 36 per cent.

Those convicted of assault are the most likely to be jailed again. Sex offenders have a 40 per cent chance of going back to prison.

So rehabilitation attempts are not having much effect, especially with the violent.

What is the point of prisons if it costs a bomb, doesn't rehabilitate offenders, and doesn't protect the rest of society? A much better idea would be to put prisoners to work. They owe society a huge debt and they should repay it.

The benefits to both society and prisoners would be enormous.

You don't gain self-esteem by undergoing counselling but by achieving something of value. This cannot be faked.

It can, however, be achieved by working hard and whether it’s forced or voluntary won’t make much difference.

Prisoners would receive not TV, not counselling, not art classes and not recreation time, but a work ethic by being forced into productive activity for eight hours a day. You don’t have time to get depressed when you are busy digging ditches, and the physical exercise will promote good health

Better yet, being forced to work together will unite prisoners of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds and encourage tolerance through necessity.

And with climate change, drought and flooding all affecting Australia there is a fantastic project just waiting for idle hands.

Prisoners could be put to work building a network of pipelines from wet, tropical and flood-prone regions to dry, drought-ravaged areas.

Just imagine if the Katherine floods could have been put to good use by pumping out the excess water through a national network to irrigate drought-stricken areas anywhere from New South Wales to Adelaide to Perth.

With the help of prisoners we could make the desert bloom.

Of course it wouldn't be cheap, but neither are jails. Special protective services and security guards would have to be employed to prevent escapes.

And some prisoners would be just too dangerous to put in the project: we wouldn't want any home-grown "Hannibal Lectures" put at risk of freedom.

And if anybody dared criticise prisoners for their past transgressions, they could reply – with honesty – that they have repaid their debt to society.

And they'd have something to show for it. Not money, for they shouldn't be paid. Not skills training – it's not about rehabilitation and a few apprenticeship.

Something far more important but less tangible: pride in themselves and respect for society.

Some may wonder if I am suggesting bringing back the chain gang.

Well, what was so wrong with the good old chain gang? It is no more inhumane than locking people up and giving them not much to do or employing them in useless “busy work”.

Plenty of prisoners kill themselves in despair in our "human prisons", so why not give hard labour a go?

'PRISON WORK', DARWIN

Prison Work has many good ideas through this sometimes leads others to think she is deranged. That is the curse of a visionary. (NT News comment)


Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: Wed, 3 May 2006
Source: Northern Territory News - THE SOAPBOX(Australia)
Copyright: 2006 Northern Territory News
Contact: ntnmail@ntn.newsltd.com.au
Website: http://www.ntnews.com.au/