Proposal to Swap Jail Time For Work For Low-Risk Offenders

Low-risk and non-violent criminals could avoid jail time and instead work 40 hours a week in paid employment under a new proposal. 

With the nation holding more than 41,000 people in jail, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) said prisoners should be given the option to serve time behind bars or fill some of the 400,000 job vacancies across the country.

It’s a move the IPA said could save taxpayers $2 billion a year, with the amount of people in prison increasing by 37 per cent since 2012-13, costing an extra 4.2 per cent each year from 2011-12 and 2019-20 to hold inmates.

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Report authors, dean of Swinburne University’s law school Mirko Bagaric, and IPA director of research Morgan Begg, said there were around 14,000 prisoners who were doing time for non-violent and non-sexual offences.

“Diverting low-risk, non-violent offenders from prison and giving them the opportunity to work would enhance their lives and prospects, promote community safety, improve the economy through increased productivity and reduce net government spending and debt,” they said.

“If Australian governments reformed sentencing so that non-violent, low-risk offenders were not detained at taxpayers’ expense, but rather were put to work in industries which urgently need workers, this could deliver substantial benefits to taxpayers without compromising community safety.”

While the report found most prisoners did not hold tertiary qualifications, many job vacancies were available in hospitality and retail where formal education wasn’t required.

Prisoners would work for 40 hours a week for between six months to three years and would receive the award payment.

Mr Begg told the ABC offenders would have to undergo a regular recruiting process and businesses would have the choice to participate in the program.

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