The Victorian government has been slammed for appearing to celebrating the dramatic increase in the number of prisoners being held on remand in the state.
Less than two months after new bail laws - widely criticised by legal, human rights and First Nations groups – were introduced, they have already had an impact, the state Labor government has said.
"In Victoria, community safety comes first, and there are consequences for breaking the law," Premier Jacinta Allan said.
"Our tough new bail laws mean more people charged with serious offences are going to jail – that's why we need to open more prison beds, now."
Coming as part of a $727 million injection to increase capacity in Victoria's prisons and youth justice centres, the government revealed 465 more people are on remand in prisons across the state compared to April last year, an increase of 22 per cent.
Furthermore, 39 more young people are on remand compared to April last year, an increase of 71 per cent.
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Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) chief executive Nerita Waight said the government's announcement was unsurprising considering their well-documented "reckless and ill-informed approach to bail," and argued prisons are not the answer to community safety.
"Investment in mental health, family violence, housing, community-based diversion programs alongside legal assistance is the only way to address the underlying causes of offending behaviour," Ms Waight said.
"The government is taking the Victorian public as fools, even the Opposition Leader can identify the need for critical investment into therapeutic supports."
The government says the funding in the budget will also expand healthcare, rehabilitation and support services across prison systems to drive down recidivism, and comes after National Indigenous Times reported last month on chaos inside the state's only maximum security female prison.
Shocking details have emerged of women trying to take their own lives. Furthermore, due to staff shortages, women are being locked down for days on end and are unable to access cultural care or rehabilitation programs.
"As it stands currently, there are not enough corrections staff to oversee the prison population, which is resulting in ongoing and protracted lockdowns," Ms Waight said.
"This is harming the well-being of our clients and is akin to torture, and no one in government is listening."
Justice Reform Initiative Executive Director Dr Mindy Sotiri said it was "incredibly misleading" for the Premier to suggest more prison beds and more people on remand would improve community safety.
"The evidence is very clear that the opposite is the case: prison does not work to deter crime, it does not work to address the drivers of crime, and the experience of incarceration increases the likelihood of people going on to reoffend," Dr Sotiri said.
"All the evidence shows that contact with the criminal justice system increases the likelihood of reoffending, particularly for children who are more likely to cycle in and out of the system for years to come—and taxpayers are footing the bill for this ineffective response."
Experts warned that the new laws, which included scrapping the principle of remand only as a "last resort" for accused youth offenders, would see overcrowding of the state's prisons, akin to what is taking place in the Northern Territory.
Last year, a report by Victoria's ombudsman found Indigenous prisoners are dealing with deeply confronting and distressing conditions, arguing a lack of input by First Nations people into health-related policy in jails has a devastating impact.
On Tuesday, VALS said the results are for all to see.
"In an already tight fiscal environment, today's announcement shows that Premier Allan's invested in expanding prisons and not programmatic solutions that would create a safer Victoria for all of us, not just some of us," a VALS spokesperson said.
"To celebrate numbers of children, young people and adults held on remand — people who are yet to be sentenced — as an indication of achieving community safety is flawed, deeply troubling and misguided."
The government's announcement of almost 1,000 additional adult prison beds will open across the system, and a further 88 beds at youth justice facilities, was also panned.
"The announcement of more beds is deeply concerning; no amount of incentivisation will find the staffing cohort to adequately oversee this expansion," Ms Waight said.
Asked about the impact extensive prison expansion does for First Peoples in Victoria, Yoorrook Justice Commission Chair, Professor Eleanor Bourke AM, told the Melbourne Press Club that while she wasn't over all the details, she hoped "sanity prevails and the right thing is done this time".
"We'll certainly be trying to persuade people…in certain spaces about what our expectations are," she said.
"Our expectations, I have to say, are not always high, for obvious reasons."
Ms Waight said the government needed to use next week's budget to invest in legal and restorative solutions so First Peoples aren't left with another "unmitigated disaster".
"There are no unintended consequences for the impact of these bail changes, the government knows full well what they are doing."
