"There are no votes in prison reform". This is a common phrase among professional politicians, who prefer to follow public opinion rather than give some guidance to the public.

It is therefore necessary for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to set the pace for reforming the "universities of crime" that prisons often become. Convicts don't come out better behaved - only better educated on how to commit the crimes next time round. Last Saturday, September 5 2009, there was a very interesting public seminar organized jointly by the Community Justice Coalition and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). About a hundred people the attended the all-day event at the NSW State Library. One of the opening speakers was Victor Dominello MP presenting on behalf of the NSW Shadow Attorney General Greg Smith MP. He said that the Opposition would not be going into the next State Election with a "law and order auction mentality". This auction mentality had in previous state elections seen both sides of politics promising to outdo the other side on being tougher on crime.

The auction process had begun in 1992, when there was a state prison population of about 3,000. The current population is now around 10,300 in NSW - with no dramatic difference in crime rate levels.

It remains to be seen if the Opposition can maintain such a high-minded attitude when the election gets underway. NSW elections are not known for their civilized behavior. Politicians from all sides usually end up dashing around looking for all sorts of ideas to scare the voters into supporting their policies.

It costs about $195 per day to keep a person in a NSW prison (virtually the same cost as keeping them in a very good Sydney hotel!) About a third of all the people in an Australian prison are in a NSW one (the total prison population is about 27,800 across the country). The NSW prison budget is one of the fastest growing parts of the state government budget. The NSW prison population is growing at a faster rate than the state's population overall.

Ironically about 60 per cent of the present prison population already has a previous criminal record. In other words, the previous time in prison didn't change their behavior. Such a high rate of re-offending shows that the system has failed. (Additionally there are bound to be former prison inmates still at large who have committed crimes since being released but who have not yet been caught). 60 per cent of the inmates are illiterate. 74 per cent of the prisons

60 per cent of the inmates are illiterate. 74 per cent of the prison population has mental health issues (as compared with about 22 per cent in the general population). Long Bay Prison is now the state's largest mental health facility.

It is likely that the September 5 seminar will be the first of a series of seminars to explore prison/ law and order issues in more depth. There is certainly a lot to be examined. Not much progress is being made in NSW with the current policies and so some fresh thinking is required. This is best done by NGOs

Keith Suter