NCJ Number
82864
Journal
Social Defence Volume: 16 Issue: 64 Dated: (April 1981) Pages: 33-44
Date Published
1981
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Excerpts from a report submitted by the Indian representative to a Colombo Plan training course on correctional services held in Australia focus on Australian adult and juvenile prison programs, the legal system, and community involvement.
Abstract
The training course provided several opportunities to gather information and observe the prison system in New South Wales and Queensland. Differences between the two systems are examined with regard to administration, security provisions, classification, architecture, living conditions, and inmate educational and employment programs. Also reviewed are personnel recruitment and training methods, work release programs, periodic detention, and probation and parole systems. New South Wales was willing to take more risks in terms of security and provided inmates with more amenities. Probation and parole services have been combined under the Department of Corrections in New South Wales, whereas they function separately under the Department of Social Welfare in Queensland. Work release programs have been successful in both States. Services for juvenile offenders in New South Wales are described, with attention to several individualized treatment models still in the experimental stage. Australia's legal system is probably more pragmatic than those in other Afro-Asian countries, but it continues to reflect a retribution and deterrence philosophy. Some Australian groups have organized to help ex-offenders and prisoners, but others have opposed the construction of more humane, innovative prisons. The training course exposed participants to various correctional systems and demonstrated that alternatives to imprisonment depend on a country's socioeconomic development, resources, and community support.