This submission shares with the Legislative Assembly Committee on Law and Safety research and analysis by the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) relating to the issues raised as part of the Inquiry into Community Safety in Regional and Rural Communities (the inquiry).
The inquiry terms of reference are relevant to new IPA research highlighting the shortcomings of the criminal justice system in preventing youth crime, and how alternative non-incarceration punishments for non-violent youth offenders—such as youth rehabilitation ranches—can produce better community safety outcomes and divert youth from a cycle of criminality.
The analysis finds that the current reliance on detention is not only unsustainable financially but is also not working to reduce crime. Youth rehabilitation ranches, which have operated in the United States for over two decades, are an evidence-based model that if implemented could reduce wasteful spending of taxpayer funds and improve community safety outcomes by giving youth the tools to be productive members of society.
