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Defined Terms
Penal Populism
or Tough on Crime
Newspaper articles - 'Tough on
Crime' evidence that the proponents of
Tough on Crime, most notably 2GB 'shock jock', Ray Hadlee
and Alan Jones,
have influenced a lot of politicians to encourage incarceration and longer jail sentences.
The familiar mantra by
shock jock, Ray Hadley, 'et al' about being 'tough on crime'
seemingly resonates with his particular audience and has influenced how politicians expend the
Public Purse:
"According to Mr Pelly, the pressure came largely
from one source: 2GB’s Ray Hadley.
‘Ray has very solid links to the police and
has a very particular view about law and
order policy, and his voice is extremely
influential.’
‘Each parliamentary office up at Parliament
has a radio selection. And I can assure you
that from 9 o clock to 12 o'clock, I'd say
80 per cent of parliamentarians had Ray Hadley on the radio and had Ray Hadley
telling them for a good four months that
Greg Smith is soft on crime, was a raving
lunatic, that Barry O’Farrell should sack
him.’
-------------------------------
"Baldry says prison overcrowding is a product of failed
political leadership, and shows governments are unable to withstand the populist compulsion to
incarcerate and appear tough on crime.
“I think it’s
also a failure of intellectual or evidence-based leadership,” Baldry says. “I
have talked to a number of treasurers over decades in NSW, for example, and
laid out in front of them the cost of doing this.
“In many ways, many people in the public service
understand this and do put these kinds of arguments forward. But, you know,
treasurers and other ministers, when I talk to them, and this is both sides of
politics, they say, ‘Look, I know that,
I understand that, but it will just not fly with the public. It just will not
fly with the cabinet.’'
-------------------------------
Below are extracts
from
How
can governments reduce the number of
prisoners that reoffend after release?
- ABC Background Briefing -
18 May 2014
Tackling recidivism is not politically popular,
however. The last NSW politician who tried was
the recently dumped Attorney-General, Greg
Smith.
His
former media advisor, legal journalist Michael
Pelly, says Mr Smith’s interest in keeping
people out of jail, where possible, was popular
for a while—including with the new Premier, Mike
Baird, who was then the treasurer. Prison
numbers came down, and jails were closed.
‘The treasurer thought this was tremendous,’
says Mr Pelly. ‘Less money: $70,000 a year
for an adult, $250,000 a year for a
juvenile.’
‘That adds up to a lot of hospital beds you
can provide. And a lot of deficit and
infrastructure you can build. And that was
all going very well until the pressure went
on, and the whole notion that anybody would
be seen as soft on crime.’
According to Mr Pelly, the pressure came largely
from one source: 2GB’s Ray Hadley.
‘Ray has very solid links to the police and
has a very particular view about law and
order policy, and his voice is extremely
influential.’
‘Each parliamentary office up at Parliament
has a radio selection. And I can assure you
that from 9 o clock to 12 o'clock, I'd say
80 per cent of parliamentarians had Ray
Hadley on the radio and had Ray Hadley
telling them for a good four months that
Greg Smith is soft on crime, was a raving
lunatic, that Barry [O’Farrell] should sack
him.’
Gradually, Mr Smith lost the support of his
colleagues. Mr Pelly says he was frustrated that
amid the noise of the law and order rhetoric,
the fact that the Attorney-General was aiming
for a safer community was lost.
‘This is the whole folly of the exercise.
That it doesn't allow for a nuanced
approach.’
‘Don't forget we were a penal colony,
founded on the idea that people could get a
fresh start. Macquarie emancipated the
convicts, made them productive members of
society.’
Changes to the justice system and attitudes to incarceration
2.25 Evidence received noted that the public response to crime
in Australia has grown increasingly punitive. Generally, the public perception of
crime is at odds with the actual incidence and trends in crime. This is attributed, in
part, to the portrayal of crime in the media, especially more violent and sensational
crime. 23
The Australian Justice Reinvestment Project stated many of the changes to
judicial policy, such as mandatory sentencing, parole changes and restrictions to bail,
have followed 'media-driven law and order campaigns around individual cases or as part of
election campaigns seeking to demonstrate "tough on crime" credentials
and sympathy towards victims of crime'.24
-------------------------------
Below is an extract from
Indigenous incarceration rates are not an intractable problem –
we have the solutions
- The Guardian -
20 Feb 2017:
History has shown us time and time again that punitive “tough on crime” and
top-down approaches are
ineffective at making our communities safer.
And yet, tragically, our governments continue to resort to “lock them up”
politics.
-------------------------------
Newspaper articles - 'Tough on
Crime'
Ray Hadley slams 'weak-kneed' justice system for king-hit killer Kieran
Loveridge's four-year jail term
Child sex abuse case leaves emotional Ray Hadley struggling to speak
Clogging prisons in the name of tough politics
Back to prison - Background Briefing
18 May 2014
Victoria's tough on crime policy 'seriously flawed' - The Australian - Nov 2014
The verdict: tougher laws on crime can be expensive - Jan 2014
According to the polls, anyway, it's almost always a winner to
get tough on
crime, tough ...
Our criminal approach to law and order -
SMH - January 27, 2003
Scaring up the votes - SMH - January 27, 2003
-------------------------------
Journal article
Tough on crime -
The rhetoric and reality of
property crime and feeling safe in Australia -
The Australia Institute - Aug 2013 - David Baker
Time for prison reform across Australian states -
ABC - The World Today - 26 Feb 2007
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"Between 2013 and 2017, the annual number of convicted offenders
receiving a prison sentence rose from 9,570 to 13,042, an increase
of 36 per cent. A little more than half (53%) of this growth is a
result of increased numbers of court appearances, with the remainder
being due to an increase in the proportion of convicted offenders
being given a prison sentence."
-------------------------------
"Talking tough constantly, increasing the number of offences for
which you can be charged, increasing the penalties if you are caught and
prosecuted and a relentless policing of bail makes the overall justice
system more punitive," Dr Clancey said. "The debate is, is that
necessary, particularly at a time we've had declining crime."
-------------------------------
Australian PM threatens strawberry saboteurs with 15 years in jail.
Politicians threatening longer jail sentences has always been a vote
winner and an easy solution.
-------------------------------
Below is an extract from
Reconsidering traditional custodial sentencing policies and practices [2018]
- John Nicholson SC:
"The politics of tougher sentencing
A law and order auction commenced as
a political enticement to voters in the mid-1980s, offering a tough approach to
so-called rising crime rates. Since then, politicians, police, radio shock jocks
and victims of crime have called for tougher sentences as a means of reducing
crime. Legislation aimed at truth in sentencing,[22]
creation of higher maximum penalties, and of new offences where old ones
adequately covered the offending behaviour, has resulted in increased
imprisonment. Yet the expected remedy of reduced crime rates through sentencing
was elusive. Falls in crime rates result from other factors such as better
policing and relevant community-based programs. Recidivism rates would suggest
that tougher sentencing is counter-productive.
Sadly, many CCA judges were attracted
to the reasoning of the legislators driving the law and order debate. Tougher
and tougher sentences were imposed. Prior to the law and order phenomenon,
sentences for mid-range murders ranged from 10 to 16 years. Currently, the
starting point for a mid-range murder might be 16 years but might now extend
beyond 20+ years. Current penalties for less serious offences have also
increased."
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