Page 953 - Week 03 - Thursday, 23 March 2017
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The evaluation highlights that the cost benefit will increase over time and the program will provide significant savings to the government, via the broader criminal justice system, based on the cost of establishing and running the program and the initial reduction in the recidivism rate. This accords with the ACT government’s strategic justice reinvestment approach to reducing crime and improving the lives of some of the most disadvantaged in our community.
The report concluded that the program has been effective in terms of outcomes for clients. Return to custody episodes for clients reduced by 23 per cent compared to the three years before the program was introduced, and those returning to custody are remaining in the community for longer periods on average.
The cumulative program funding for the four years to June 2016 was $3.56 million, a slight increase from the original budget of $3.31 million. For the study group the average cost was generally around $1,500 per client for brokerage and essential support packages, with higher costs in a small number of particular high need cases. When considering the total program operating costs, it is estimated that the average cost is in the order of $4,700 per client.
The costs of program support services are relatively marginal, given the comparatively high cost of custody, estimated at around $120,000 per year for an individual. In this context, although there is substantial uncertainty about repeat offending, a relatively small reduction in recidivism rates is associated with substantial cost offsets in the short and medium terms and potentially ongoing, where reduced reoffending is sustained over the longer term.
This is an encouraging result and will work towards reaching the ninth parliamentary agreement commitment to reducing recidivism by 25 per cent by 2025, along with forming part of the evidence base for the justice reinvestment strategy that my directorate is currently working on.
Of course, any good evaluation should also highlight some areas for improvement. The final report indicated that we need to expand post-detention employment opportunities in a Canberra labour force where there is very little low skilled manual work and few social enterprise options for detainees. The study links employment with pro-social behaviour and reduced reoffending, which, while on some levels is quite intuitive, has provided more evidence that we need to put a greater focus on this in the future.
The report also highlights areas of concern for clients, such as the duration of the program, equity in support and, more importantly, areas of social policy that impact on the cohort, such as accessible housing and employment opportunities.
The study suggests that more focus could be given to engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients in raising awareness of the program functions. I know that this is already an area that Corrective Services and the through-care team are working on, as we recognise the need to do more with Indigenous service providers
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