The Victorian Government’s planned $727 million prison expansion is a costly, ineffective and short-sighted measure that ignores the evidence about what actually works to build community safety.
Under the 2025/26 Budget, the Allan Government will add almost 1,000 adult prison beds and a further 88 beds at youth justice facilities at Cherry Creek and Parkville to respond to growing pressure on the system. The adult remand population and the number of children on remand has risen by 22% and 71% respectively in the past year alone.
Justice Reform Initiative Executive Director Dr Mindy Sotiri said the announcement represents a staggering misuse of public funds and a failure of evidence-based policymaking.
“It is incredibly misleading for Premier Jacinta Allan to suggest that putting more people on remand and building new prison beds will keep the community safe. The evidence is very clear that the opposite is the case: prison does not work to deter crime, it does not work to address the drivers of crime, and the experience of incarceration increases the likelihood of people going on to reoffend,” Dr Sotiri said.
“Building new prison beds in response to increasing numbers of people on remand represents a disappointingly politicised approach to policy making. If we want to reduce overcrowding in prisons, then we need to look at the drivers of incarceration. Let’s be clear: the rising number of people in Victoria’s prisons and youth detention centres is not a result of increased crime — it is a direct consequence of harsher bail laws. Locking up more people, including more children, is not a measure of success. It is a sign of policy failure.”
“All the evidence shows that contact with the criminal justice system increases the likelihood of reoffending, particularly for children who are more likely to cycle in and out of the system for years to come— and taxpayers are footing the bill for this ineffective response.”
As part of the planned expansion, the Government promised to support people in custody by expanding healthcare, rehabilitation, and support services across the adult and youth systems. But this vague commitment stands in stark contrast to the punitive policy settings that are driving more people — including children — into the prison system.
“A safer community starts with investing in the services in the community, not expanding prisons. We need communities that have access to supports that stop people from being funnelled into the justice system in the first place— not in an ever-expanding prison estate,” Dr Sotiri said. “You can’t claim to be focused on rehabilitation while simultaneously funnelling more people into custody through regressive bail laws.”
Dr Sotiri said the vast expenditure on prison beds comes at the cost of genuine community safety.
“Building new prisons does nothing to address the structural and systemic issues that are pushing people into prison in the first place,” she said.
“Spending nearly three quarters of a billion dollars on prisons also diverts critical funding away from family violence programs, alcohol and other drug support, First Nations-led programs, mental health, education, family support, and other key programs which are proven to reduce crime and make communities safer.”
The Justice Reform Initiative is calling for urgent investment in evidence-based alternatives to incarceration, including diversion programs, community-based supports, and First Nations placed based strategies that have been shown to reduce offending and improve community safety.
“Real answers to community safety are not found in sending more people to prison or creating more prison beds to fill,” Dr Sotiri said. “They are found in greater and targeted investment in community programs and First Nations-led initiatives that work to address offending behaviours and reduce contact with the justice system in the long term.”
For more information visit https://www.justicereforminitiative.org.au
Contact details:
Amy Price 0437 027 156