Talking Point: My focus more than ever is on prisoner rehabilitation, says Elise Archer

As Corrections Minister, my focus is on doing more than ever to ensure offenders are rehabilitated and reintegrated back into the community as productive and law-abiding citizens, writes Elise Archer.

AS Corrections Minister, my focus is on doing more than ever to ensure offenders are rehabilitated and reintegrated back into the community as productive and law-abiding citizens.

Prison populations across the country are increasing and Tasmania is not immune from this trend.

Prisons will unfortunately always be required for certain types of crimes and offenders, as sentenced by courts, but they also are an opportunity to assist people to gain skills ready for their release.

Increasing prospects of employment is one of the factors that helps reduce recidivism.

Several programs assist offenders get their lives back on track, including programs targeting substance abuse, aggression and family violence, all offered on a regular basis.

Specialist alcohol and drug counsellors are available, and courses targeting parenting skills and literacy are also provided with successful results.

After much preparation the government, through the Tasmania Prison Service, has an agreement with TasTAFE to expand education services in Risdon.

This is part of a broader prison education strategy that includes Skills Tasmania, Libraries Tasmania and TasTAFE, offering greater opportunities for education support and accredited vocational training, providing employability and improved reintegration outcomes.

As well as education, prisoners are able to participate in work, giving them the opportunity to learn and develop skills.

This allows prisoners the opportunity to give back to the community and prepare for reintegration while reducing their risk of reoffending when released.

Elise Archer. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Wherever possible, work at the Tasmania Prison Service is aligned to vocational training to improve employability.

Examples are construction, cleaning, food handling, hospitality, horticulture and textiles, while employment-related courses such as first aid are also widely available.

We have had prisoners work on construction projects in the prison, gaining valuable skills from accredited builders.

Our government recognises the importance of rehabilitating offenders to prevent them from entering the prison system.

Community Corrections is a service dedicated to working with offenders in a community setting.

Probation officers work with offenders sentenced in the community and help them develop skills and address issues that contributed to their offending.

For example, probation officers link people with counselling, job network providers, literacy assistance and assist them to find housing, and work with them on issues that may have contributed to their offending.

Programs to address substance abuse, family violence, general problem solving skills and drink driving behaviour are also delivered by Community Corrections.

All assist people to live more prosocial lives and reduce their risk of recidivism.

We have introduced home detention with electronic monitoring as an alternative sentencing option with the aim of assisting offenders to rehabilitate.

While this is a serious and restrictive option, it allows an offender to remain in their home and maintain employment and social support networks which help them lower the risk of recidivism.

More can always be done.

The Tasmanian Government is providing significant investment in staff and infrastructure. We have committed $350 million to fixing ageing infrastructure and increasing capacity through recruitment and a Northern Regional Prison and the new Southern Remand facility to be completed at the end of 2021. Rehabilitating offenders remains a strong focus for our government and our infrastructure program will assist us in delivering even more education, training and programs to achieve greater rehabilitation and reduce recidivism.

Elise Archer is Tasmanian Attorney-General and Corrections Minister.