Australian Catholics asked to examine alternatives to prison
-22/09/05
Speaking in the run up to Australiaís Social Justice Sunday (25 September), the Rt Rev Patrick Power, Auxiliary Catholic Bishop of Canberra-Goulburn, has called on Christians to promote awareness of alternatives to imprisonment – the most positive of which, he says, is the idea of restorative justice.
Restorative justice is based on engaging offenders with the impact of their actions on victims and on their own community. It seeks to bring them back into society through practical recompense and restitution.
Bishop Power said that it was important to offer prisoners a chance to work or to study for professional qualifications, in order to reintegrate them in the community. He claimed that this approach is more effective in dealing with crime than traditional prison punishment, as well as more Christian.
In some parts of Australia, as in other developed countries, the prison population has grown by more than 40% over the past decade. In Britain the number of people in jail exceeded 76,000 for the first time earlier this year.
Referring to Jesusí call for his followers to recognise him in acts of mercy to prisoners (Matthew 25), Bishop Power declared that Christians should promote wider acknowledgment that prisons are not an effective answer to crime, and in practice are often little more than schools for criminals.
He said that Social Justice Sunday provided a time for reflection and concrete acts of solidarity towards prisoners, ìwho are often desperately lonely and totally ignorant of Godís love for them.î
The call for restorative justice was backed earlier in the year by Michael Jacobson, who was in charge of New York’s prison service in the 1990s when inmate numbers fell concurrently with a substantial drop in crime.
Mr Jacobson described ìmass imprisonmentî in the US as ìa public policy gone mad.î He urged community-based prevention and non-jail alternatives for some breaches of release conditions.
Church groups in the UK have also repeatedly called for different approaches to criminal justice, and opportunities for change may open up with through charities being involved in running parts of the prison system.
To mark Social Justice Sunday in Australia, the Catholic Social Justice Council circulates an annual statement to parishes, dioceses and institutes across the nation. It also uses the opportunity to raise the public profile of justice-based policy initiatives.
In 2005 the statement is entitled ëJesus, Light for the Worldí. It focuses on reaching out to those who feel distant from the church, and to addressing the needs of the most marginalised in society.
Australian Catholics asked to examine alternatives to prison
-22/09/05
Speaking in the run up to Australia’s Social Justice Sunday (25 September), the Rt Rev Patrick Power, Auxiliary Catholic Bishop of Canberra-Goulburn, has called on Christians to promote awareness of alternatives to imprisonment – the most positive of which, he says, is the idea of restorative justice.
Restorative justice is based on engaging offenders with the impact of their actions on victims and on their own community. It seeks to bring them back into society through practical recompense and restitution.
Bishop Power said that it was important to offer prisoners a chance to work or to study for professional qualifications, in order to reintegrate them in the community. He claimed that this approach is more effective in dealing with crime than traditional prison punishment, as well as more Christian.
In some parts of Australia, as in other developed countries, the prison population has grown by more than 40% over the past decade. In Britain the number of people in jail exceeded 76,000 for the first time earlier this year.
Referring to Jesus’ call for his followers to recognise him in acts of mercy to prisoners (Matthew 25), Bishop Power declared that Christians should promote wider acknowledgment that prisons are not an effective answer to crime, and in practice are often little more than schools for criminals.
He said that Social Justice Sunday provided a time for reflection and concrete acts of solidarity towards prisoners, ‘who are often desperately lonely and totally ignorant of God’s love for them.’
The call for restorative justice was backed earlier in the year by Michael Jacobson, who was in charge of New York’s prison service in the 1990s when inmate numbers fell concurrently with a substantial drop in crime.
Mr Jacobson described ‘mass imprisonment’ in the US as ‘a public policy gone mad.’ He urged community-based prevention and non-jail alternatives for some breaches of release conditions.
Church groups in the UK have also repeatedly called for different approaches to criminal justice, and opportunities for change may open up with through charities being involved in running parts of the prison system.
To mark Social Justice Sunday in Australia, the Catholic Social Justice Council circulates an annual statement to parishes, dioceses and institutes across the nation. It also uses the opportunity to raise the public profile of justice-based policy initiatives.
In 2005 the statement is entitled ëJesus, Light for the World’. It focuses on reaching out to those who feel distant from the church, and to addressing the needs of the most marginalised in society.