Australian Institute of Criminology Occasional Semina

Of fences and offences

Associate Professor Michael Levy, Director, Corrections Health Program, ACT Health

Australian Institute of Criminology

74 Leichardt Street, Griffith ACT

Australia has more than 27,000 adult detainees. The national incarceration rate is 130 per 100,000 adult population, but this conceals large variation between jurisdictions.  The rate of increase of 7% per annum is one of the highest among OECD countries, and exceeds that of the United States.

The health of Australian prisoners is extremely poor. An increasing body of research is describing this disadvantage. However, there are very few intervention studies in the health literature.

The impact of prisons on communities has attracted some attention in the broader health and social science literature. With the commissioning of the Alexander Maconochie Centre in August 2008, there may be an opportunity to observe whether positive impacts can be assessed, and negative impacts measured and mitigated.

RSVP: 2 July 2008 aic.events@aic.gov.au