Australia's Prison System

The sentencing act of 1991 is involved with every single criminal case in Victoria. It states that a judge or magistrate should consider the aims of criminal sanctions. They are to punish, to deter, to denunciate, to establish conditions for rehabilitation and to protect the community. It also states that imprisonment is the most serious of all criminal sanctions and should be imposed as a last resort. The importance, the current need or trends in all …

…of rehabilitation, we quite clearly remain amateurs in the practice of rehabilitation.". That's where we are going wrong; we say one thing, turn our cheek and do another. We need to look at our prison system more in terms of rehabilitation than bed demand and denunciation. Until this time, recidivism will continue to plague those released back into our society. Sources: www.upenn.edu/researchatpenn/article.php?730&soc www.justice.vic.gov.au