Justice system under scrutiny

AUSTRALIA’S Catholic bishops, in their statement for next weekend’s Social Justice Sunday (September 25), question whether “the justice system is truly delivering justice to the community”.

St Vincent de Paul Society’s NSW chief executive and former NSW Juvenile Justice Minister Graham West was to have launched the 2011 Social Justice Statement for the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) in Sydney on Wednesday (September 14).

Margaret Wiseman, of Sydney archdiocese’s prison chaplaincy, was to have been the respondent.

A spokesperson for the ACBC said the statement – Building Bridges, Not Walls: Prisons and the justice system – highlighted serious shortcomings in Australia’s prisons and in the justice systems, and challenged citizens and politicians to search for a more constructive way forward.

Australian Catholic Social Justice Council chairman Bishop Christopher Saunders said: “The majority of Australian prisoners come from the most disadvantaged sections of the community: indigenous people, the underprivileged and those suffering from mental illness.

“Although rates of crime have overall remained steady, and in some cases have fallen, Australia’s rate of imprisonment has increased dramatically. Between 1984 and 2008, the rate almost doubled.

“We must ask if the justice system is truly delivering justice to our community.

“Although there will always be a need for prisons to deal with serious offences, there are alternative measures that are more effective in delivering justice and keeping many people out of jail.”

In the statement, the bishops call for more productive alternatives to fear campaigns about law and order, for an approach that addresses the social factors that contribute to crime, ensuring the dignity of those in prison, and providing more support for people returning to society.

The statement urges all citizens to consider how we as a society can make a real difference for those in prison and seeking bridges to a new life.