It isn't just our jails that are in crisis but society as well. We
have all been led to believe that lengthy prison sentences are the
best form of punishment for every sort of wrongdoing including the
non-violent drug crimes.

More than half our prisoners are there because of drugs. Surely there
is a better alternative than sending drug offenders straight to prison
where they mix with hard-edged criminals and may be tempted to commit
more serious crimes on their release.

Then, of course, there is the unwritten law that many young prisoners
face, that of being raped by others continuously and/or being bashed.

We should also be aware that more than 80 per cent of people in prison
for murder actually killed someone they knew: a spouse, sibling,
child, neighbour or friend.

It's not the complete stranger you have to be careful
of.

Spending almost $500 million a year on prisoners seems dumb. The money
should be put towards more police on the streets, and drug treatment
programs to prevent people going to jail.

Con Vaitsas,
Ashbury