The APS has recently signed on as a supporter organisation of the Justice Reform Initiative.
The Justice Reform Initiative is a national organisation working to reduce over-incarceration across Australia. They seek to shift the public conversation and public policy away from building more prisons as the primary response of the criminal justice system and move instead to alternative evidence-based approaches which break the cycle of incarceration. They are committed to elevating approaches which address the causes of contact with the criminal justice system including homelessness, mental ill-health, cognitive impairment, unemployment, lack of access to education and problematic drug and alcohol use.
The Justice Reform Initiative have as their Patrons-in-Chief, former Governor Generals the Honourable Sir William Deane AC KBE and the Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO. A further 120 patrons include people from across the political spectrum, academics, respected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, senior former judges, including High Court judges, and many other community leaders who have added their voices to this movement.
By signing up, APS is joining over 100 other organisations from across Australia who recognise that Jailing is Failing and that it’s time for Australia to build a community in which disadvantage is no longer criminalised.
