Imprisoning a person is costly to the taxpayer, as is the of building more prisons to house more prisoners. As discussed earlier in this submission, there is evidence that significant costs may be saved by diverting non-violent offenders with substance use problems into community residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation services instead of prison. William Blackstone, one of the founders of our modern day criminal law made this observation about imprisonment as a prevention strategy. Preventative justice is, upon every principle of reason, of humanity, and of sound policy, preferable in all respects to punishing justice. W Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (1753) The effectiveness of alternatives to imprisonment, including prevention, early intervention, and other models including diversionary and rehabilitation measures, has not been well researched in Australia. The lack of an evidence base to justify spending on some of initiatives can lead to programs and initiatives losing funding and support. The Queensland government recently disbanded four established diversionary courts - the Queensland Court, Drug Court and Special Circumstances Court and the Indigenous Alcohol Diversion Program. Significant costs may be saved by diverting non-violent offenders with substance use problems into community residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation services instead of prison. The justification for the disbanding of the diversionary courts was the lack evidence that they were having an impact on reducing recidivism. It is therefore very important that a cost benefit analysis of these initiatives occurs. The Magistrates Court of Queensland 2010-11 annual report revealed Queensland saved 588 years of prison time in 2010-11 by diverting 115 people from prison. The then Queensland Law Society president, John de Groot pointed out the savings of the Drug Court:
Imprisoning a person is costly to the taxpayer, as is the of building more prisons to house more prisoners. As discussed earlier in this submission, there is evidence that significant costs may be saved by diverting non-violent offenders with substance use problems into community residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation services instead of prison. William Blackstone, one of the founders of our modern day criminal law made this observation about imprisonment as a prevention strategy. Preventative justice is, upon every principle of reason, of humanity, and of sound policy, preferable in all respects to punishing justice. W Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (1753) The effectiveness of alternatives to imprisonment, including prevention, early intervention, and other models including diversionary and rehabilitation measures, has not been well researched in Australia. The lack of an evidence base to justify spending on some of initiatives can lead to programs and initiatives losing funding and support. The Queensland government recently disbanded four established diversionary courts - the Queensland Court, Drug Court and Special Circumstances Court and the Indigenous Alcohol Diversion Program. Significant costs may be saved by diverting non-violent offenders with substance use problems into community residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation services instead of prison. The justification for the disbanding of the diversionary courts was the lack evidence that they were having an impact on reducing recidivism. It is therefore very important that a cost benefit analysis of these initiatives occurs. The Magistrates Court of Queensland 2010-11 annual report revealed Queensland saved 588 years of prison time in 2010-11 by diverting 115 people from prison. The then Queensland Law Society president, John de Groot pointed out the savings of the Drug Court: