Purpose of prison as punishment

The use of imprisonment (or incarceration) as a form of punishment has been used from the earliest of times. It is a legal penalty imposed by the State for the commission of a crime. Imprisonment involves the deprivation of liberty and freedom, and has been seen as an appropriate way of not only punishing offenders, but also as a preventative measure to ensure offenders don’t reoffend in aims of protecting wider society.

It is commonly believed, however, that prisons do not typically provide environments that are conducive to successful rehabilitation, with qualitative and ethnographic research consistently identifying ways in which the institutional social climate can act in counter-therapeutic ways.[1]


Prison Causes Crime

Australia is experiencing a rise in the use of incarceration in all states and territories, with the number of individuals in jail rising over 6 percent from 2006 to 2007 alone.  The result is a shifting locus to more intrusive legislation, which is increasingly giving less credence to rehabilitation and educative prevention. Read more… 


Words from the Inside

A collection of quotes and references from letters written to Justice Action by prisoners. Read more…