NCJ Number
144585
Date Published
1993
Length
22 pages
Annotation
The Victoria, Australia, Department of Justice's Correctional Services Division (CSD) plays a critical role in protecting the community by ensuring that court sentences are enforced and by taking immediate action if an offender fails to comply.
Abstract
The CSD must control and supervise offenders in a humane and just manner while maximizing community protection, provide rehabilitation opportunities, and facilitate community reintegration. In addition, the CSD must provide a correctional environment that protects the physical and emotional well-being of both staff and offenders and encourage offenders to develop responsibility for their actions, values that reinforce lawful participation in the community, acceptance of community standards, and respect for the rights of others. Rehabilitation programs of the CSD must challenge offense- related behavior; encourage offender responsibility and promote self-esteem; and develop educational, social, and living skills. The CSD's emphasis on work in prison provides benefits to the community and facilitates reintegration. Sentencing principles of the CSD are designed to justly punish offenders, deter offenders from committing the same or similar offenses, and facilitate offender rehabilitation or treatment. The CSD follows standard guidelines for corrections in Australia that were issued in 1989. These guidelines focus on correctional dispositions, punishment as the deprivation of liberty, offender needs, community involvement in corrections, individualized offender management, offender reintegration into the community, discrimination, and correctional staff. Correctional goals and objectives are specified for prisons, community-based corrections, and support services. Future correctional priorities are identified that concern improved management, secure prisons, cost-effective programs and services, drug surveillance, offender management, prison programs, community involvement, and female offenders.