Mparntwe, Alice Springs Alternative to Custody Program setting women on better path

Territory women are almost five times more likely to be locked up compared to the rest of Australia. Here’s how an Alice Springs program is helping women find their feet.

Selina Newcastle knows what captivity feels, smells and sounds like — what an unairconditioned cell in the Central Australian desert does to a person.

Taking in a deep breath of air, the 47-year-old Warlpiri woman and ex-prisoner said: “Freedom, it opens your eyes”.

Ms Newcastle shared her story to a crowd of legal experts, politicians and government officials at the launch of the Smarter Justice campaign on Monday.

After participating in a six-month Alice Springs based diversion program in 2022, Ms Newcastle is now showing the Territory’s leaders what a new approach to crime can look like.

Ms Newcastle is one of 20 women who have completed the Mparntwe/Alice Springs Alternative to Custody Program over the past two years.

Warlpiri woman Selina Newcastle read a poem she wrote when she took part in the Mparntwe/Alice Springs Alternative to Custody (ATC) Program in 2022. Picture: Sierra Haigh

“I needed some help because I didn’t want to go back to drinking alcohol again,” she said.

“I got so much support when I was there.

“I could talk to them about my problems and share stories, and I learned how to manage myself and look after myself better.

“I want to get a job now and keep busy. I feel like I have a second chance at life.”

At the launch of the Smarter Justice campaign on Monday, Ms Newcastle read aloud a poem she co-wrote with another participant, Grace Williams, about their experience behind bars.

“You try and think about outside, how your family is doing. But you’re blocked in. Anger just waiting there,” she said.

“It’s putting your mind to darkness, trying to make you or break you.”

NT Attorney-General Chansey Paech spoke at the launch of the Smarter Justice for Safer Communities campaign. Picture: Sierra Haigh

Statistics show about 75 per cent of prisoners have served time before.

But the Drug and Alcohol Services Australia run program found in just six months the reoffending rate flipped — with recidivism rates down to a quarter.

Of the 20 people who had completed the program over the past two years, 16 women had complied with their post-sentence conditions and had not returned to custody.

DASA chief executive officer Eloise Page said the 10-bed facility was focused on teaching women life skills over six months, with programs catered to their needs.

Drug and Alcohol Services Australia chief executive Eloise Page. Picture: Supplied

“We treat the women like humans, not a number,” Ms Page said.

“Instead of asking ‘what’s wrong with you?’ we’re asking, ‘what’s happening to you and what do you need from us to help turn things around?’”

Through cooking to exercise classes, to cultural outings and domestic and family violence training, Ms Page said the women “learn, grow, they feel safe, they make good choices and they care”.

Ms Page said, critically, the women could have their children with them, with one mother reunited with her baby boy after being separated from him at two months old.

For a program where 40 per cent of the participants were mothers, Ms Page said this made a huge difference compared to prison.

Ms Page said earlier clients had gone on to train as an Aboriginal Health practitioner, another used her hospitality training to go on to work with a celebrity chef during the Parrtjima Festival.

For others the victories were more personal.

One woman who spent eight years locked up was able to reconnect with her family, after working on her “trauma, anger and shame” with a psychologist.

“It’s extraordinary how much women learn and grow during the time they are with us, and

we see them emerge better equipped to cope with challenges or problems and much

more in control of their personal triggers,” Ms Page said.

According to the latest Productivity Commission data, Territorian women are almost five times more likely to be locked up compared to the rest of Australia.

Northern Territory Aboriginal Justice Agreement (NTAJA) co-chair Olga Havnen spoke at the launch of the Smarter Justice for Safer Communities campaign, a Territory-wide initiative to tackle crime and offending rates. Picture: Sierra Haigh

Aboriginal women are imprisoned at 14 times the rate of non-Aboriginal women.

Northern Territory Aboriginal Justice Agreement governance committee co-chair, Olga Havnen, said the early success of the Mparntwe/Alice Springs Alternative to Custody Program was further evidence that diversion was a valid substitute for prison.

“This is what smarter justice looks like,” Ms Havnen said.

“An evidence-informed program that is clearly working to address the complex factors that contribute to offending by providing drug and alcohol treatment, mental health support, behaviour change and other rehabilitation strategies in a culturally appropriate way.”

“This is how we create safer communities.”