By Pip Hinman
"Tougher punishment for serious and juvenile crime will not solve the problem of crime in our community", said Professor Ross Homel at the Coalition for Crime Prevention's campaign launch in Brisbane on May 18.
Homel, from Griffith University, pointed to the United States as the "prime example" of the consequences of the "quick fix through building more jails" approach. Over the last decade, the jail population in the US almost doubled on a per capita basis, with a record 1.5 million people now in prison. "The effect of this draconian policy on crime rates is extremely limited", Homel said.
The coalition is hoping to influence the pre-election law and order focus away from more jails and more police. It would like to see greater emphasis placed on early intervention with young people and crime prevention activities.
Apart from the humanitarian considerations, the coalition is campaigning on the economic advantages of reducing the jail population. Australia spends over $4 billion a year on the criminal justice system.
The Goss Labor government's law and order budget package, launched on May 22, provides a record $1 billion to be spent over three years on: more police (Labor has created an extra 1500 police positions since it took office in 1989); a 10% increase in the corrective services budget of $205 million, of which $54 million is earmarked for 1995-6 prison infrastructure; a 15% increase in the justice/attorney general's budget of $292.5 million, of which $20 million is to be spent on courts infrastructure and $92 million for protective services and juvenile justice programs.
Yet, as the coalition has pointed out, this is being done despite the fact that violent crime is not on the increase:
- ABS records indicate that there was no change in the rates of sexual assault in Queensland between 1983 and 1993;
- the rate of homicide has decreased steadily in recent years according to the Queensland Police Service Statistical Review 1993-1994;
- contrary to popular opinion, those least likely to be the victims of violent crime are the elderly, according to the 1991 Queensland Crime Victim Survey.
The coalition points out that what has increased is the fear of crime. Recent research in Toowoomba showed that public anxiety about violent crime increased over a 13-month period, even though the incidence of violent crime did not increase in that same period.
The coalition decided to run a six-month campaign to counter the predictable pre-election "getting tough" hype.
Gerard Paulk told Green Left Weekly that the coalition did not want a repeat of the NSW law and order "auction" in the Queensland state election. He said it was important for the community to strive for a broad range of creative and innovative responses to crime, rather than primarily focusing on the "getting tough" responses. This would result in an enormous burden on public funds, and would not prevent crime.
The coalition is preparing a statement outlining a government/community crime prevention strategy and a victim support strategy. It will involve programs that reduce aggressive behaviour in young children, anti-domestic violence and sexual violence programs, and community action programs to reduce violence in hotels and other public places. The coalition can be contacted at PO Box 306, Red Hill 4059, or ring
(07) 832 1266.