A right-leaning think tank proposed a plan that would allow low-risk, nonviolent offenders to work full time for businesses that have difficulty filling job vacancies.
The Institute of Public Affairs published a report that suggests possible reforms that could help address both the problem of costly over-incarceration and a worker shortage crisis in Australia.
The report discovered that implementing justice reforms could have enabled up to 14,000 incarcerated young adults to join the workforce in 2021-22, leading to a $1.95bn boost in the government’s budget.
According to the report, the savings would be derived from reduced incarceration expenses and increased revenue from income tax.
Mirko Bagaric, a co-author of the report, proposed that putting low-risk, nonviolent offenders on award wages at participating businesses would help alleviate the “severe, inflation-inducing labor shortage Australia is experiencing.”
According to Bagaric, “detaining each prisoner costs taxpayers over $147,000 per year. Most nonviolent, low-risk offenders should have the opportunity to substitute their prison sentence with a community-based sanction, which would involve full-time employment as its core element.”
He believes that the labor scarcity is especially severe in low-skilled industries. For example retail and hospitality, which are causing a rise in prices and cost of living. A coordinated solution that addresses both issues is necessary, and governments must think more intelligently to achieve it.
Low unemployment rate of 3.7%
According to the proposal, employers should possess complete knowledge of an offender’s criminal record. The release process would function in a manner similar to community-based orders. Besides, for the fact that the offender would receive award wages.
Despite a low unemployment rate of 3.7%, there are more than 400,000 job vacancies nationwide. On the other hand, the number of people in prison has risen by 37% since 2012-13, with over 41,000 inmates. That is one of the highest imprisonment rates among OECD countries.
Several states already have work-from-prison programs. Such as NSW, where inmates can work for a textile factory or a bakery and earn a weekly wage. NSW Corrective Services also offers work-release programs for inmates nearing the end of their sentence.
