What is prison good for: Do we need to rethink our prison system?

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Join us on Monday, 21 October as we welcome Charlie Taylor is the HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for a discussion on role the prison ought to play in a criminal justice system and how governments can best ensure that prison is an effective, efficient and humane component of the criminal justice system. Taylor will be joined by Peter Kurti, Director of the Culture, Prosperity & Civil Society program at the CIS, for this discussion.

Over the past thirty years, Australia has seen a long-term decline in rates of homicide, the most useful indicator of trends in violent crime because almost all cases are reported to the police. At the same time, rates of incarceration have continued to rise from 128 persons per 100,000 adult population in 1994 to 214 persons per 100,000 in 2022. Rising rates of incarceration have prompted some critics to wonder whether Australia is now living through a “second convict age”.

Punishment, or the threat of punishment, alone will not prevent crime; but when willingness to use prison as punishment weakens, crime rates can be expected to rise. Increasing rates of incarceration are often thought to account for changes in Australia’s crime rate. But the marginal effect of prison is declining – that is, for each additional person sent to prison, the corresponding reduction in the rate of crime is slowing. So, what is prison good for?

Charlie Taylor is the HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, appointed in 2020. He previously led the Youth Justice Board and conducted a major review of the youth justice system. Taylor has a background in education and is a trustee of Dallaglio Rugby Works, supporting children outside mainstream education.

Peter Kurti is director of the Culture, Prosperity & Civil Society program at CIS and is also Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Law and Business at the University of Notre Dame Australia.