Videos Australia's Prison Dilemma webinar On 12 November 2021, the Commission hosted an online event with expert panel and Q&A, discussing: Why are imprisonment rates rising? What is imprisonment costing the Australian community? Are there alternatives to prison which can reduce costs without compromising community safety? Moderated by Michael Brennan - Chair, Productivity Commission Panellists include: Stephen King - Commissioner, Productivity Commission (at 3:37) Don Weatherburn PSM - Professor at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (15:37) Helen Coventry - Jesuit Social Services (27:44) Nicholas Cowdery AO QC FAAL - Adjunct Professor at the Sydney Institute of Criminology (41:56) Q&A starts at 54:40 Transcript of webinar Webinar transcript - Australia's Prison Dilemma (PDF - 216 Kb) Webinar transcript - Australia's Prison Dilemma (Word - 58 Kb) Australia's Prison Dilemma short video Transcript of video Over the last 20 years our imprisonment rates have increased by more than 35 per cent and our imprisonment numbers are growing faster than almost every other developed country. [Image] Australia is 3rd in OECD Imprisonment rate growth between 2003-2018. So, is Australia experiencing some kind of crime wave? No. In fact the incidence of many types of crime has been falling. Keeping people in jail is expensive, around $330 per prisoner per day. [Image] $10,000 per prisoner per month. So why do we have less crime but more people in prison? A big factor is 'tough on crime' policies such as making bail harder to access and mandatory minimum prison sentences. Prisons play an important role in keeping the community safe from violent offenders but many people in prison are considered low risk to the community. [Image] Violent offences 58% offenders in prison 2020. Non-violent offences 42%. 15% Low risk. Given the very high cost of imprisonment it is sensible to look at alternatives that can keep the community safe at a lower cost. Our report looks at a range of options that have been trialled both in Australia and overseas. [Image] Diversion. Home detention/early parole. Rehabilitation. Case management. System targets. Knowledge base. Find out more by reading our latest research paper. pc.gov.au/prisons