incorporating the 2011-2013 Breaking the Cycle Action Plan
Our corrections system interacts with some of the Tasmanians who most need support from government. It also offers significant opportunities to improve people’s lives, and to deliver social and economic benefits to our community.
Tasmanians who come into contact with the corrections system have often experienced intergenerational poverty and unemployment. Many have low levels of education, and may suffer from mental illness and/or substance abuse issues. The challenge before us all is to deliver a corrections system which is as safe as possible for people who work there, treats offenders with dignity and respect, and also offers genuine opportunities for rehabilitation.
We must continue to ensure that our community is protected from those who pose a threat to public safety. Prison will continue to remain the appropriate place for some offenders. However, our corrections system needs to do much more than just deprive some offenders of their liberty. It must also provide appropriate non-custodial sentencing options, and help offenders to reintegrate into society and avoid reoffending.
An effective corrections system will provide programs and support to help people change their offending behaviour. Many offenders need support, education and training to improve their chances of leading productive lives. And people serving custodial sentences often need transitional assistance prior to and after their release, to assist with reintegration into our community and reconnection with family and friends.
I firmly endorse the principle that imprisonment should be a last resort. We therefore need appropriate sentencing options available to our Judges and Magistrates. Well structured community programs are not soft options, and are often more effective in changing behaviour than short terms of imprisonment.
The relationship between our corrections system and non-government service providers is crucial. This strategic plan will assist us to work closely together to provide services to offenders and to improve lives.
Our dedicated and experienced corrections staff in the Tasmania Prison Service and Community Corrections often work under difficult and challenging circumstances. Making sure we provide the safest possible workplaces, appropriate support and skills development is critical. And we must at all times find the right balance between staff safety, security and our human rights obligations to offenders.
The strategies outlined in this Plan will assist us to improve and expand services and programs for offenders. It will also lead to close relationships with partners in the non-government sector, improvements in our facilities and infrastructure, the development of alternative sentencing options and increased support to our workforce.
This is the first strategic plan developed for Corrective Services in Tasmania, and I thank my predecessor, Lisa Singh, for initiating its development. I also thank all of the stakeholders who participated in the comprehensive consultation process which informed this plan. I am confident that working together we can build on the initiatives outlined in this Plan, and ensure Tasmania has a corrections system which continues to improve, and delivers better outcomes for staff, offenders and all Tasmanians.
Nick McKim MP
Minister for Corrections and Consumer Protection
March 2011
I am pleased to be able to introduce the Breaking the Cycle Strategic Plan for Tasmanian Corrections 2011-2020.
I would like to start by thanking all those who have participated in its development. Thank you to Professor David Adams for chairing the Reference Group and all of the Members of that group for their contributions. Thank you also to the Members of the Steering Committee and to those who took the time to attend consultations or make a submission.
The Breaking the Cycle Strategic Plan will guide our direction in the area of corrections for the next decade.
The community rightly expects its corrections system to reform individual offenders.
While our corrections system has come a long way in the last ten years with the introduction of new facilities, new programs, improved reintegration services and increased support from non-government organisations, I believe we can continue to improve and deliver better results.
Although one of the major aims during the planning process has been enhancing community safety, there are also additional benefits to the community where offenders are genuinely reformed.
We all know that keeping people in prison is expensive, but it is not just the direct costs that should be of concern to the community. A person sentenced to imprisonment may also lose their accommodation and employment and be unable to care for their children. Often family and social relationships fail and there are immediately costs to the community such as foster care and welfare payments.
The strategies and actions contained in the following pages will help us reduce reoffending. The introduction of additional community-based sentences, offender interventions and improved community engagement in the corrections system will assist in diverting less serious offenders away from the prison system.
The Breaking the Cycle Strategic Plan provides a sound framework for corrections policy over the next decade: a policy that builds on the previous decade of improvements and one that ensures we target our resources to get the best response into the future and a policy that delivers on not only legal justice, but social justice as well.
Robert Williams
Director of Corrective Services
On 10 September 2009, the then Minister for Corrections and Consumer Protection asked the Department of Justice to develop a ten-year strategic plan for Corrective Services in Tasmania.
This is the first time that a strategic plan has been developed for the whole of Corrective Services in Tasmania.
The strategic plan will provide direction to the dedicated people who deliver services to offenders and ex-offenders in Tasmania and ensure a higher level of community safety through reduced rates of re-offending.
An inter-departmental Steering Committee was established to assist the Department of Justice in its task, comprising senior executives of relevant departments. In addition, a Stakeholder Reference Group was formed to provide expert advice, chaired by Professor David Adams, the Social Inclusion Commissioner for Tasmania. The Reference Group’s members were drawn from a wide variety of fields including non-government service providers, academics, unions, business and advocacy groups.
The discussion paper released in January 2010 was designed to provide the community with an opportunity to have input into the future of the corrections system in Tasmania and was prepared following expert advice from the Stakeholder Reference Group, an examination of research into international best practice about what works in corrections and extensive consultation with those who work with offenders and ex-offenders, and offenders themselves. Over thirty written submissions were received, and a feedback summary was published in October 2010.
The Breaking the Cycle Strategic Plan covers the adult corrections system in Tasmania, including Community Corrections, the Tasmania Prison Service and their relationship with other government and non-government service providers.
Many areas of key relevance to corrections outcomes are not directly under the control of corrective services. Laws related to sentencing are the domain of the Attorney-General, and sentences are imposed by independent Judges and Magistrates. Services of key relevance to corrections such as drug and alcohol treatment, mental health services and housing are delivered by the Department of Health and Human Services. Many crucial preventative and supportive programs are delivered by non-government organisations. Youth Justice and early intervention issues are the responsibility of the Minister for Children.
Rather than ignore these important areas, this Plan recognises the interconnectedness of the problems we face and the services we provide to deliver them. Only by working together with our partner organisations can we effectively address the underlying issues that contribute to offending.
A number of recent developments are also relevant here. The current Palmer Inquiry into the Risdon Prison Complex will look into issues of infrastructure, workplace safety and culture, and conditions for prisoners, while the Integrity Commission will add an additional ongoing layer of oversight to corrections. The work of the newly-established Sentencing Advisory Council will be of key importance to the development of new sentencing options. The corrections system, and hence the Plan, may also be affected by the proposed Human Rights Charter for Tasmania.
The body of this paper includes:
The Strategic Plan will be implemented by means of a series of Action Plans. The actions comprising the first Action Plan (2011-2013) are included in this document. A review of the Strategic Plan will be undertaken at the time of the development of the second Action Plan to ensure that the goals, strategies and associated actions remain pertinent.
The mission of the Tasmania Prison Service is:
To contribute to a safer Tasmania by ensuring the safe, secure containment of inmates and providing them with opportunities for rehabilitation, personal development and community engagement.
Community Corrections’ vision is:
As a progressive organisation that has the trust and confidence of the public, Community Corrections will help protect Tasmanians by:
The Breaking the Cycle vision for the Tasmanian corrections system is:
A reduction in reoffending and an increase in the ongoing safety of the Tasmanian community by providing a safe, secure, humane and effective correctional system with opportunities for rehabilitation, personal development, reintegration and community engagement.
The Department considered a number of principles to guide the development of this Strategic Plan, including those outlined in local legislation, national guidelines and various international standards.
The following principles underpin the Breaking the Cycle Plan:
In the course of the strategic planning process, the Department has identified seven goals that will be the focus of our efforts. These are:
Strategies to achieve each goal are listed. These are, on the whole, expected to remain relevant for the ten-year period of the plan.
As described in the Background, the Department is currently developing a three-year action plan to take the strategies forward.
The actions are included in this plan under the strategies they refer to, and are shown in italics, e.g.
Strategy (ten-year plan)
5.1 Improve communication with the broader community regarding corrective services
Actions (three-year plan)
5.1.1 Develop a community communications strategy for corrective services
5.1.2 Investigate opportunities for community outreach
Expanding the range of interventions available to offenders to address the underlying causes of an individual’s offending behaviour, both within the Tasmania Prison Service and Community Corrections, was identified by stakeholders as a key priority to reduce reoffending. Issues which have been shown to impact on offending (“criminogenic needs”) may include substance misuse, lack of education or employable skills, anti-social attitudes, values and beliefs, and lack of activities and interests that are “pro-social” (i.e. positive towards others and in tune with social norms).
Other factors may not directly impact on offending, but may impact on our ability to work with the offender to address the criminogenic needs. For example, intellectual disability may make it difficult for an offender to participate in a group program. The presence of multiple issues, or “co-morbidity” (for example, substance misuse combined with mental health problems) may make offenders difficult to treat.
Additionally, some services may not directly address offending behaviour, but are important to provide positive activity within the prison context.
As discussed in the Background, while some interventions are provided directly by the Tasmania Prison Service and Community Corrections, many important services are delivered by partner organisations. By working more closely with our government and non-government partners, we will be able to increase the provision of programs and services for offenders with needs such as substance or gambling addictions, mental health issues or intellectual disability.
The transition from prison to the community is also a key time in an offender’s rehabilitative pathway. Supporting the reintegration needs of offenders by expanding transitional services such as accommodation, assisting in engagement with education and employment, and increased assistance with reconnecting with family and support networks will help to reduce an offender’s risk of re-offending on release and will enhance community safety.
Issues of compliance with community-based orders and enforcement of conditions are also linked to community safety. Public concern in relation to community-based sentences often focuses on the risk of reoffending while on such a sentence. Ensuring appropriate sanctions are applied for breaches of orders, such as failure to attend planned community service work or drug and alcohol counselling, will increase both compliance rates and community confidence in the corrections system.
Actions:
1.1.1 Increase the number and diversity of therapeutic group programs addressing criminogenic needs delivered by Community Corrections
1.1.2 Explore options for the expansion of service provision to remandees and inmates on short sentences
1.1.3 Work with partners to increase the provision of programs and services addressing key criminogenic issues such as substance misuse, including where co-morbidities are present
1.1.4 Work with partners to increase the provision of programs and services tailored to offenders with special needs e.g. intellectual disability, acquired brain injury
1.1.5 Work with partners to explore options for family support and family-based interventions
1.1.6 Investigate options for increasing the provision of services in regional / outlying areas (internally and through partner organisations)
Actions:
1.2.1 Review case management practices
1.2.2 Provide staff with training and resources to allow them to deal confidently and sensitively with offenders of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, including Indigenous offenders, and with GLBTI offenders
Actions:
1.3.1 Work in partnership with the Department of Education to implement the Tasmania Prison Service Education and Training Strategic Plan
1.3.2 Expand employment support for inmates and offenders
1.3.3 Support the Literacy Co-ordinators provided by the Department of Education to expand provision of literacy and numeracy education to offenders (in prison and in the community)
1.3.4 Increase the relevance of prison vocational education and prison industries employment to employable skills
Actions:
1.4.1 Enhance support for transition between the Tasmania Prison Service and Community Corrections
1.4.2 Continue to work to increase accommodation options for inmates on release
1.4.3 Engage the broader community (including key groups e.g. employers) to improve reintegration opportunities (see also 5.2)
Actions:
1.5.1 Review breach and compliance procedures within Community Corrections (see also 3.1.5)
1.5.2 Increase the provision of services for compliance monitoring (e.g. urinalysis)
1.5.3 Investigate options for introduction of electronic monitoring as an option for compliance monitoring of community-based offenders (see also 3.1)
Having an appropriate range of prison facilities which enable the delivery of services and safe containment of inmates has been identified as critical to the safety of the community and effective rehabilitation of inmates.
Planning for additional maximum-security facilities is already underway. The lack of appropriate accommodation options for maximum-rated inmates, particularly those considered to be high risk or with behavioural issues or other special needs, has also been highlighted by the Ombudsman’s Report into the Tamar Unit and Behaviour Management Program.
Community safety can be improved if on release offenders have the required skills to live responsible and offence-free lives in the community. Options for open, low-security correctional facilities include transition / reintegration centres, which would allow inmates to live in a shared-house setting and to take responsibility for their day-to-day lives while remaining in a supervised environment. This would also provide an incentive for good behaviour within the prison system.
The need for a remand centre in the North-West of the state has also been raised.
Actions:
2.1.1 Consider options for the restructure of resources to provide open, low-security facilities appropriate to the needs of the prison population, including transition / reintegration centres
2.1.2 Continue to progress the development of additional maximum-security facilities in line with need
2.1.3 Explore options to expand facilities for the delivery of programs and education (in line with 1.1 and 1.4)
2.1.4 Expand and improve prison industry facilities (in line with 1.4)
2.1.5 Explore options to improve facilities for interactions between offenders and their families
Actions:
2.2.1 Explore options for the provision of short-term custodial facilities in the north-west
It is acknowledged that some offenders should be subject to substantial prison sentences and removed from the community to protect the safety of the public. However, imprisonment is not always the most appropriate or effective rehabilitative option. The cost to the community goes far beyond the cost per prisoner per day and includes a broad range of social and economic costs including family dysfunction, the loss of housing and employment.
The expansion of sentencing options available to the Courts is seen as important, particularly non-custodial sentencing options. Community-based sentences provide an opportunity for offenders to address issues which contribute to their offending behaviour, while at the same time also including an element of punishment and accountability to the community.
To achieve this goal, the Department will need to work closely with those who have primary responsibility for sentencing, including the Attorney-General, judges and magistrates. The work of the newly-established Sentencing Advisory Council will also be of key importance.
Actions:
3.1.1 Work with Tasmania Police to develop a proposal to trial electronic monitoring equipment for accused people on bail
3.1.2 Carry out a feasibility study of home detention with electronic monitoring as a sentencing option
3.1.3 Participate in the ongoing exploration of a “problem solving” court to improve provision of diversionary and treatment responses to a wide range of issues that contribute to offending behaviour
3.1.4 Explore options for the provision of hostel-style accommodation for accused persons on bail and parolees
3.1.5 Investigate options for improving legislation regarding community-based sentences to increase ease of enforcement (see also 1.5)
Many offenders have difficulty accessing appropriate services. In addition to government departments there is a wide range of non-government organisations providing support and rehabilitative services to offenders.
Although the privacy of offenders must be respected, improved communication and information sharing among agencies would reduce duplication and improve service delivery. It would enable an offender’s case plan, for example, to be shared on an as-needs basis with other service providers. This would generally be contingent on the offender’s permission; however in some situations consent is not legally required.
Actions:
4.1.1 Enhance through-care for offenders moving between TPS and CC (see also 1.4.1)
4.1.2 Explore the expansion of multi-disciplinary treatment teams (MTTs) for offenders with complex needs
4.1.3 Increase communication and interaction with partner organisations (see also 6.3)
4.1.4 Explore the possibility of centralising funding for service delivery by NGOs to support longer-term and cross-disciplinary projects
4.1.5 Enhance relationship with UTAS for professional development and research
Actions:
4.2.1 Expand information sharing between TPS, CC and other justice outputs
4.2.2 Explore options for integrated assessment and case planning (“One Plan”) with other agencies and NGOs
4.2.3 Explore options to integrate information technology systems to facilitate the sharing of information (see also 7.3)
Engaging the community and encouraging community participation in the rehabilitation of offenders is seen as critical. Building partnerships with community organisations and employers, for example, would increase opportunities for offenders on release and improve long-term outcomes.
Providing the community with an opportunity to become increasingly involved will add to the community’s understanding of and confidence in the corrections system.
Local communities may be best placed to identify opportunities to assist in rehabilitation and reintegration, including the provision of advice on employment or training for offenders. They may also identify appropriate community service order worksites or provide information on the types of issues of concern to their local area. The Community Justice Panel model provides a forum for local communities to participate in this way.
Actions:
5.1.1 Develop a communications strategy for corrective services
5.1.2 Investigate opportunities for community outreach
5.1.3 Regularly publish key information regarding corrective services
Actions:
5.2.1 Research models for Community Justice Panels
5.2.2 Support non-government service providers who wish to develop schemes for volunteers to work with offenders (e.g. literacy, mentoring)
5.2.3 Improve communication with offenders’ families
Actions:
5.3.1 Consider the development of a formal framework for, and enhance delivery of, victim-offender mediation
5.3.2 Work with local government to expand ways for offenders to repay the community
Increasing the capacity of those who work within the corrections system and ensuring they have the skills, abilities and experience and appropriate ongoing training to enable them to carry out their work effectively and to support the delivery of best practice in correctional services is critical to providing appropriate correctional services, including rehabilitation services to offenders.
Actions:
6.1.1 Review recruitment strategy for key roles
6.1.2 Review working conditions and arrangements to enhance support of flexible working hours and work-life balance
Actions:
6.2.1 Implement a professional development strategy to identify development needs, provide appropriate support and manage performance issues
6.2.2 Deliver additional training in areas of identified need
Actions:
6.3.1 Continue to hold sector-wide forums for sharing of views and expertise
6.3.2 Investigate opportunities for shared training with partner organisations
Actions:
6.4.1 Develop formal policies in relation to workplace consultation to enhance decision making and staff involvement
6.4.2 Work with staff and Workplace Standards Tasmania to address concerns and identify opportunities to improve safety in the workplace
In order to increase the community’s trust in the corrections system in Tasmania, it is considered desirable to introduce additional oversight mechanisms to ensure the policies and practices of the corrections system are appropriate and that we are delivering a system that meets our national and international obligations.
The Department believes that by providing improved information about what happens within the system and ensuring appropriate resources are available for oversight, the confidence of the community can be increased.
Actions:
7.1.1 Explore options for the establishment of an independent Prisons Inspectorate
Actions:
7.2.1 Establish a mechanism for sharing relevant research among key staff
7.2.2 Investigate ways of recruiting research students to key projects
Actions:
7.3.1 Increase capture and analysis of strategic items of internal data
7.3.2 Enhance transfer of information between internal systems
Actions:
7.4.1 Work with partner organisations to align strategic directions
Robert Williams, Deputy Secretary
Ginna Webster, Director, Community Corrections
Graeme Barber, former Director of Prisons
Greg Partridge, Acting Director of Prisons, Tasmania Prison Service
Alison Jacob, Deputy Secretary for Youth Justice, Housing, Disability, Child & Family Services
John Crawshaw, CEO, Statewide & Mental Health Services
Mark Sayer, former Manager, Skills Tasmania
Mike Brough, General Manager, Skills Tasmania
Phil Wilkinson, Assistant Commissioner, Tasmania Police
David Adams, Social Inclusion Commissioner (chair)
Jenny Begent, Salvation Army
Gary Bennett, Bethlehem House
Simon Cocker, Unions Tasmania
Tracey Currie, Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs Council of Tasmania
Ceridwen Davies, regional representative
David Dilger, Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI)
Susan Fahey, Women’s Legal Service
Ken Hardaker, Advocacy Tasmania
Tom Muller, Tasmanian Council of Social Service (TasCOSS)
Sielito, Centrelink
Rob White, University of Tasmania
