Building community confidence in community corrections

Lorana Bartels, Don Weatherburn

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

It is inevitable that some people granted conditional release will (re)offend, but most will complete their order without incident. Nevertheless, the standard approach adopted by correctional agencies to communicating with the public about community corrections is one of minimal information. We suggest that this may create an impression that offenders are dark shadowy figures incapable of change or redemption. To address this, we set out an agenda for Australian governments to build public confidence in community corrections. We call for more robust program evaluation, publication of the results and regular updates on trends in successful order completion. We also highlight the importance of educating the public about crime and corrections and the need to improve the credibility of community corrections. Finally, governments should do more to humanise offenders. The public has a right to know more about how offenders are managed in the community. They also deserve to hear the stories behind the statistics.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)292-308
Number of pages17
JournalCurrent Issues in Criminal Justice
Volume32
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jul 2020

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