Crime, Sentencing and Community Safety

Concern: Are criminal penalties, rehabilitation programs and crime prevention measures providing sufficient protection for the community?

Key Points

• Crime affects individuals, families, businesses and communities in different ways.

• Criminal penalties depend on the offence, individual circumstances and applicable laws.

• Imprisonment, rehabilitation, supervision and crime prevention serve different purposes within the justice system.

• Crime statistics should distinguish between reported offences, alleged offenders and convictions. These figures measure different things and do not necessarily follow the same trends.

• The effectiveness of sentencing and rehabilitation measures can be assessed through factors such as repeat offending, community safety and outcomes for victims.

Possible Improvements

• Examine the effects of sentencing and rehabilitation programs on repeat offending.

• Consider early intervention programs intended to prevent criminal behaviour.

• Review the resources available to police, courts, correctional services and victim support programs.

Simple Example: Two people may commit similar offences but have different circumstances and criminal histories. A court may consider these differences when deciding an appropriate sentence. Whether different sentencing approaches reduce future offending is a separate question.

Future Consideration: What effects could changes to sentencing, rehabilitation and crime prevention have on community safety, victims, offenders and repeat offending?