OARS Offenders Aid And Rehabilitation Services Of S.A. Inc.

OARS Community Transitions is looking forward to its next Quality Management Accreditation Review during the week of 23rd May 2011.

The 123rd AGM of OARS SA was held yesterday. The reports from the operational divisions of OARS SA contained in the Annual Report provided members with an interesting and insightful journey across the services that OARS SA provides.

The 2009-10 year was another successful year, with our client contact increasing in all areas. In particular, this year has been one of preparation to build a more sustainable organisation and to branch out into some new activities that offer great opportunity for the future. OARS SA has always been reliant on government funding and it is this matter that we have sought to redress over the last 12 months. We achieved a balanced financial result this year as we spent funds to develop some new capacities.

Staff at OARS SA saw an opportunity to provide assistance to job seekers with an offending background and, building on our experience operating the Federal Government Personal Support Program for many years, we developed the Second Chance Employers Network. This network finds and supports employers interested in assisting our clients with offending backgrounds seeking employment. It is a different approach because our work is to support the employer, not just the workers we place. Clients are supported by other staff but both groups work closely together. Dot Stagg has done a wonderful job in the development and implementation of these new approaches.

We have also found a niche to enhance the scope of our existing services by providing opportunities for job seekers to overcome work entry barriers such as mental illness, drug and alcohol problems, gambling addictions and many others. This approach has also been very successful and forms part of our financial sustainability strategy.

One of our major achievements for the year has been the successful development of our Client Database System. This system was developed in conjunction with Membership Solutions International and is set for implementation during 2010-11. This Client System module has been added to an already fantastic system which coordinates our training services, our product sales and our membership management and communication.

Once again we have been assisted so very well by an army of volunteers and our Murray Bridge Branch continues to provide exemplary support to prisoners at Mobilong Prison and vital local funding to assist in the operations of our Murray Bridge Office. We are deeply indebted to our volunteers.

OARS SA has always attracted passionate staff and 2009-10 has been no different. In the last month of the financial year we were informed that we had been selected to operate the new Ex-Custodial Supportive Homelessness Service for South Australia. This was a great achievement. This service will operate under a completely different model than we have previously operated.

We have been able to attract a great team with seven new staff coming on board to drive the implementation of this new service opportunity. Funding has been substantially increased and we believe outcomes will be greatly enhanced.

I would also like to recognize the ongoing work of all of our teams. Some services have been operating for a long time, but these are also of great importance to our clients.

I would like to thank Meredith Newman, the Chair of OARS SA for her support and leadership during this financial year, and along with her congratulate the Board for a first class effort in assuring the governance and control of our organisation.

Local media has been covering the proposal by Prison Fellowship SA to develop an overtly Christian wing in one of the South Australia prisons. Whilst this may seem a good idea on the surface of it, OARS SA is not generally supportive of this notion. Prison Fellowship International has been advocating this approach for many years and a number of such services have been implemented in the United States and Canada. The evidence about the success of this approach is not strong, and some Governments appear to have used Churches and or their associated NGO's to fund services that should rightly be funded by themselves. In advocating for such a prison wing in Canada recently, Prison Fellowship Canada, among other things, suggested that "We would not require someone to be a professing Christian to enter but we certainly would expect them to be respecting the values and principles that we would be engaged in." This underscores the essential dilemma for me. It is the clear experience of OARS SA that one needs to be very careful about offering redemption to people who are incarcerated and have very few alternatives or hope. It can be be potentially very damaging in the long term, and it is possible that false conversions happen simply to get some support. Another potentially negative factor is the damage caused when an elite or special wing is structured in any prison that provides opportunities not available to everyone. This can work, but can also create unnecessary division and conflict. It is quite possible for a prison system to operate on a consistent set of values and principles and in fact this is already the case in South Australia. The Department of Correctional Services is not perfect in its application of this, but neither is any other organisation that I know.

We would rather see more resources provided to all prisoners to ensure that their need for rehabilitation, treatment, restorative justice and healing are provided across the board, and that the current system of Prison Chaplaincy and lay support is developed and nurtured. Further our advocacy continues to focus on preventing people entering the criminal justice system and stopping the revolving door after release. OARS SA has had magnificent support from hundreds of people for many years, including many people of Christian and other faiths, and for this we are extremely thankful, but we do not think a Christian prison wing is the answer.

7/12/2009 We are delighted to have seen the introduction of Spent Convictions Legislation into South Australia this month. This legislation means that South Australian offenders join all other Australian jurisdictions in having an opportunity to live without a permanent criminal history if they committed a minor offence. It is sensible to exclude certain types of offences and the 10 year period required for good behaviour is consistent with other State and Federal legislation. Our heartfelt congratulations go to the Hon Bob Such MP for persistently following up on this issue and getting it through. A supporter of OARS SA has been talking to me and gently urging our engagement and support for Spent Convictions legislation for 15 years and we have certainly done some work on this over many years and with many Ministers. I am yet to speak with our Member but I am sure it will be a great conversation.

18/11/2009 OARS SA hosted its 122nd AGM recently. This financial year has been exciting and we have played an advocacy role more than has been usual in the recent past. Our media exposure has been quite high and positively received. We have been given very significant exposure on 5AA through Amanda Blair and this has been extremely helpful. Following is a summary of the highlights.

7/11/2008 The Premier of South Australia has told OARS and SACOSS to "Get real..... to go and talk to real South Australians who are happy with our (justice) policies." This is what we now intend to do. We believe that many people support a reduction in imprisonment. There would be even more people prepared to do so, if they were presented with the facts about the the probable impacts of overcrowding on recidivism. Our work with victims of crime through restorative justice and the international research shows us clearly that many victims of crime also believe that incarceration is often not the best outcome.

7/11/2008 OARS SA assists parents of prisoners cope with the imprisonment of their adult sons and daughters by providing a support group. This group is very concerned about the circumstances of their children in prison and at their regular monthly meeting raised some issues. CEO Leigh Garrett spoke at length with them about the report on Costs of Incarceration and to the recent gathering of Parents of Prisoners. The parents spoke passionately about the circumstances of their children resulting from prison overcrowding. This group are the innocent secondary victims of crime. The group talked about their feelings of helplessness and persecution, social isolation and the stigma associated with having a child in prison.

10/10/2008 The current prison disturbance at Port Augusta Prison seems very clearly to be symptomatic of the general criminal justice system in this State. This is our view of how this policy unfolds : We are arresting record numbers of people because we have boosted Police resources significantly over recent years. This might seem to be a great idea until we look at the crime rates. Major crime up particularly violent and sexual offences. We create a massive blockage in our Courts because few extra resources are provided the CAA, or to other justice agencies such as the Legal Services Commission and Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement to cope with the extra arrests. This creates a blowout in numbers of people remanded in custody which blocks up Correctional Services. SA has the highest remand in custody rate in Australia. When people eventually get to court sentences are longer and we have more sentenced prisoners. Our prisons are thus overcrowded and treatment and rehabilitation programs fall by the wayside as staff have to cope with the complexities of managing prisons operating way above their design and operational capacities. We are locking away record numbers of people in prison. More prisoners are released with inadequate rehabilitation, poor prospects of obtaining a job, and limited access to housing. Not surprisingly the repeat offending rates increase. We provide even more police and arrest even greater numbers because we need to get tougher............... and so the story is repeated. The consequence in our view is a costly and ineffective system that actually produces more victims of crime, not less.

12/09/2008 The OARS SA Report "Incarceration : Unsustainable Costs and Diminishing Returns" prepared by SACOSS is now only a few weeks away from being published.

2/09/2008 Bullying continues to be a major topic for discussion in the media in South Australia. An article by Maria Moscaritola in the Advertiser 29/08/2008 highlights further stories about the major long-term impact of bullying on the lives of students. At the Centre for Restorative Justice (A Division of OARS SA ) a different approach to bullying is recommended. The use of restorative approaches to justice in schools, communities and work places is a new way to heal the harms victims experience because of bullying, to help bullies change their behaviour, and create more peaceful communities. The early identification of bullying behaviour and protection for victims is absolutely vital. It is important that children can be provided with strategies to reduce their exposure to bullies; to reduce the impact to bullying on their lives; and most importantly, to assure their ongoing attachment to the school and peer groups.

Too often however, because schools manage bullying poorly, the victims leave the school because the school has not taken action with the bully. The regular response if the school does take action with the bully, is for the bully to be removed from class, excluded from the school for a period of time, or expelled. This does not heal the damaged victim, nor does it stop the bullying. It just relocates the bullying in time and space. Victims of bullying, and the school community around them, including teachers and parents, need justice. Justice is not achieved without genuine accountability and fairness between the parties. Justice is not served well by a one dimensional avoidance response for victims, nor the permanent social exclusion of the bully. Restorative practices offer a multi-dimensional solution to justice in these circumstances, by providing a real opportunity for all parties affected by the bullying to move forward. Most importantly victims and bullies can reconcile where possible, reparation can be made, and communities can continue to grow with everyone in a better space. Safety is improved and communities learn that punishment is not the only way to solve conflict.

22/08/2008 A recent survey undertaken by Professor Ken Rigby from UNISA is reported in the Advertiser 21/08/2008 as showing that 70% of teachers say bullies should be punished for relatively minor harassment. Professor Rigby is reported as saying that "Teachers on the whole are confused about what they think they ought to do". The real issue here in our view is not whether we should "punish" or not "punish", nor at what moment in time the punishment should occur. It is actually the exclusive use of punishment itself that should be questioned. Punishment alone is unlikely to fix the bullying problem, and in fact often makes it worse. When the punishment includes suspension or expulsion, it is very likely to make the bully worse.

Victims of major bullying need to be protected, and suspension of the bully is sometimes necessary, but the Centre for Restorative Justice has found that a restorative conference with both parties and parents coming together in a structured way to resolve the issues works really well. The ideal solution to the ephemeral bullying issue at schools, and indeed families and workplaces, would see victims empowered, protected physically and more importantly emotionally, by the community around them, and bullies made aware of the impact of their behaviour, and then offered opportunities to apologise and repair the harm.

The Centre for Restorative Justice has seen this work in even the most difficult matters, including significant school violence. The latter matters have been structured in conjunction with authorities as required by law. Many schools are embracing a restorative framework in everyday school life, and this is preventive and reduces the chances of bullying escalating. If victims can be empowered to believe that they are no longer need to remain victims; if victims can witness the bully feeling ashamed of their behaviour and receive an apology; and if bullies can be treated with some respect, we will not see the continuation and escalation of bullying to the extent that is common now. We must intervene early when bullying behaviour is evident, and sanctions are a part of this, but if the only thing that we do is punish bullies, they will become the next cohort of socially excluded people living in our juvenile detention centres and prisons.

20/08/2008 The issues associated with South Australia's high level of remand prisoners have again surfaced. Lean Byner on Radio 5AA asked the question "Why should we care about how remand prisoners are treated?" Dr Craig Raeside spoke about this, and the OARS SA perspective was also put to Leon by CEO Leigh Garrett. It seems to us that the critical issue about whether South Australians should care about the way we treat remandees, and all prisoners for that point, is that almost all are released back in to the community. The better the conditions, and the better the treatment they receive, the better citizens they will become after released. CEO Leigh Garrett also questioned the custom and practice associated assessing all remandees as High Security prisoners. Leigh made it clear that the Department for Correctional Services would only be placing remandees in G Division if their bahaviour warranted it or out of desperation for space. As a matter of interest, OARS SA has approached the Justice Department to fund a structured bail accommodation service, but this has been refused.

7/08/2008 Chris Kenny in the Advertiser 6/8/2008 (Minor crims deserve a prison break) further questions the relevance and effectiveness of our overuse of incarceration in this State. He could probably write an article every week questioning criminal justice systems that are manipulated by ignorant politicians across the world, who conceal the truth from the public, who create more victims of crime, and who destroy lives and the futures of offenders and their families. Here is a few searching questions the people of South Australia might ask both the Government and Opposition in SA in relation to their justice policies. Is South Australia the only State in Australia that still retains the right of politicians (through Executive Council) to make the final decisions about permitting parole? Is South Australia the only State that retains its Crime Statistics Bureau within the domain of the Attorney General's Department? Is the average length of prison sentence extremely low in South Australia because we churn through hundreds of prisoners on very short sentences? Are hundreds of people locked away in prison because they cannot find accommodation to gain legitimate Parole, legitimate Home Detention, or who cannot be bailed because of homelessness? Does the incarceration of parents devastate the futures of their children, who are the innocent secondary victims of crime? Do the children of offenders, who receive virtually no targeted support, go on to repeat the criminal lives of their parents? The responses of both major political parties in South Australia to these questions would make interesting reading.

6/08/2008 The new prisons being designed for Mobilong are apparently the most technologically advanced in Australia. So reports the Sunday Mail on Sunday 3rd August. This article is deeply unbalanced because it almost completely ignores the important requirement for offender treatment and rehabilitation. Some of the systems described in the article will enhance the lives of prisoners and visitors, provide less intrusive ways of searching visitors (thus maintaining dignity and reducing false positives) and possibly keep the community safer. They may ensure more humane care and they will improve the efficiency of the prisons. A really important question does remain unanswered however. When was the last escape attempt, or successful escape from behind the walls of a maximum or medium security prison, in South Australia? Escape attempts world-wide are now focussed during transport between prisons or between courts and prisons. We would do well to remember that the most critical factor in the success of any prison anywhere is the quality of the relationships developed between prison staff and those in their care. In fact prison security depends significantly on these relationships as well. The focus in this article on the so-called Supermax concept is unnecessary. Supermax prisons capture public attention and make great headlines but are fraught with danger. Australia's first so-called Supermax wing in Long Bay Gaol called Katingal, devastated the humanity of all who were sent within its walls. Prisoners never saw another human being whilst within its walls unless it was because of illness or misbehaviour. Prisoners were dehumanised to the point of seeking a way out. I was told by staff of Long Bay gaol that Katingal had the highest suicide rate of any prison in the world just prior to it being closed decades ago. I am sure the Department for Correctional Services needs a high security wing for prisoners who are violent or mentally ill, but I am also sure that that they are not calling this a Supermax facility with all of the subsequent negatives that attach to it.

30/07/2008 OARS SA now has available a DVD of the presentation given by the DPP, Stephen Pallaras QC, at our recent public forum. The DVD costs $25.00 including postage and handling. Please contact us for further details.

30/07/2008 Chris Kenny presents a really good article in the Advertiser on the 30th July in his TALK column. Chris says "Our prison system fails everyone". He is absolutely correct at one level, but the broader issue is that the entire criminal justice system fails everyone. Our prison system simply cannot keep up with the huge increases in offending numbers in spite of its best efforts. Other jurisdictions across the world have already worked out that increasing incarceration fails. The UK Labor Government went down the get tough pathway, and over the last 2 years both privately and publicly have been begging the judiciary to sentence at the lower end of the range because of the massive overcrowding in their prisons. The judiciary have said no. The judges say to the politicians "You changed the laws and we will sentence according to them". A number of States in the USA have started to reduce sentences because they were facing insolvency, primarily because of the massive costs associated with imprisoning everyone. If incarceration actually worked, that is if it actually solved the problems of crime, the cost might be worth it. Our view is that for the vast majority of prisoners, it actually makes things worse. The issue of the costs of incarceration was dealt with in OARS SA recent newsletter. Download the Cost of Justice article here. The full text of the information OARS SA provided for Chris Kenny is here. OARS SA Statement. We must address the causes of crime through early intervention. Restorative Justice also presents a very positive range of alternatives if early intervention fails. One wonders if the so-called Gang of 49 offenders might benefit from some restorative interventions to help them understand the impact and harm associated with their crimes on victims. Restorative interventions in the UK have shown that repeat offending can be reduced and victims assisted, when opportunities are provided for victims and offenders to meet face to face. The current strategy with young aboriginal offenders seems like a significant failure.

28/07/2008 As part of the Commonwealth Government general review of taxation, charity benefits are expected to be scrutinised. OARS SA welcomes the review of taxation benefits that are currently afforded charities and church groups. The sector is largely unregulated and often dysfunctional, is dominated by large Church-based charities, and needs a close examination. Many charities have turned into pseudo-corporations, where financial growth and the level of funds received seems to be the primary goal. Ensuring organisational accountability and sustainability is one thing, but seeking financial growth for the sake of it is a big worry. South Australia has seen a large increase in Interstate Charities targeting our State for growth and development. I don't see too many seeking partnerships with existing services. Small charities such as ours face challenging times, as the big end of "Charity Town" continues its seeming quest for dominance from across the border.

25/07/2008 The DPP Stephen Pallaras gave a great presentation on aspects of justice to the OARS SA Public Forum held on Thursday 24th July. A large audience attended, with several politicians and a number of Year 12 Students from Charles Campbell Secondary School had come along as part of their year 12 legal studies subject. The meeting was very positive and most people stayed behind for dialogue and networking. OARS SA is most grateful to the DPP for taking the time to share his thoughts with us. His views were extremely interesting and well considered, albeit critical of current law and justice policy in this State and around the country.

OARS SA continues to question the cost-effectiveness of the "Get Tough on Crime Mantra". OARS SA has commissioned research to better understand the nature of the costs of crime and its impact in SA over the next 10 years. We also point to a recent article by the NSW Bureau of Crime statistics. This Crime and Justice Research Bulletin No 93 is an exemplary piece of research which questions the cost-benefit of the increasing use of prison as the primary crimeprevention methodology.

Lessons learnt about strengthening Indigenous families and communities. A report from the the Department for Families Housing Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Download full report.

A recent U.K. Ministry of Justice Report Finds Restorative Justice Conferencing Reduces Reoffending an Average of 27 Percent, Satisfies Victims and Saves Money. Download report here.

OARS SA Chairperson Meredith Newman, Leigh Garrett and Debbie Laycock met with a high level delegation from the Chinese Ministry of Justice. Topics for discussion included prison policy, restorative justice and its application, and offender rehabilitation and treatment programs.

The report from the Economic Development Board on Skills and Workforce Development in SA has been released. This is an important document for the community services sector. Skills Report

A delegation from the Chinese Ministry of Justice is visiting Adelaide this month. They are coming to OARS SA on Monday 14th July to discuss our work and in particular Restorative Justice.

Centre for Restorative Justice has been assisting victims and offenders in an armed robbery restorative conference.

OARS SA staff presented 4 key papers to the Prison Re-integration Puzzle Conference held in Adelaide last week. OARS SA sponsored the conference which was very successful. For more information about the Deakin University Research on prison reintegration go to Deakin University Employment and Social Exclusion Research Group

The Centre for Restorative Justice has helped a local High School return to normal after a major incident. A series of student Workshops has helped repair the harms and enable everyone to look to the future with more confidence.

OARS SA delivers a submission in relation to the Australian Government housing and homelessness Green Paper.

OARS SA CEO Leigh Garrett has called for a more constructive debate about the effectiveness of more imprisonment and the cost associated with longer sentences and more criminal legislation...... "When the cost of these incarcerations are brought to account, is locking people away for as long as we can the best way to use our scarce resources? My thinking is it's not. "We need to make a judgment about the relative cost of justice and the need for more nurses and spending on health, education and housing." (City Messenger 25Jun08)

The Hon Carmel Zollo MLC presented volunteer certificates to nearly 100 OARS SA volunteers during Volunteers Week. A fantastic afternoon was had by all and volunteers were very pleased that the Minister would honour them with her attendance.

OARS SA has won significant funding from the Department for Health and Ageing to continue its Illicit Drug Intervention Program. Alongside an increase in funds to continue the existing program, a major capital and recurrent grant has been secured to improve our training facilities and to develop strategies to attract amphetamine users into our treatment services.

OARS has secured a major three year grant to develop our capacity to better identify and treat offenders with mental health co-morbidity.

OARS SA has won the National Award for Treatment Excellence at the Drug and Alcohol Awards in Sydney. The Reachout Program which was developed and operated in conjunction with the SA Department for Correctional Services at Cadell Prison assisted young offenders with alcohol and drug dependencies via an innovative 13week intensive program. The program was founded on principles of restorative justice and used art as a major part of its therapeutic intervention.