Jan Davis: Putting prisoners to work on the land is a win-win for all of us

There’s a small group of Tasmanians, nearly all of them men, who would give their eye-teeth to quit what they are doing, get out into the bush, fix up some fences, clean up some fire hazards, do some exercise, get some vitamin D and pick up a life skill all at the same time.

What’s more they don’t have to be paid (well, not much) and from what we saw of them last year, they are a good bunch of people, keen to give back to the community for their sins of the past. They are the prisoners of Tasmania.

According to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013) Tasmania has almost 500 prisoners. Their median age is 32; the median sentence they are serving is two years; 15 per cent of them are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait origin (and indigenous people are 3.6 times more likely to be imprisoned than non-indigenous people); and 65 per cent have been to prison before. By and large, they are not murderers, rapists or people in prison for serious crimes against the person. Most are people who have run off the rails at some stage and they are looking forward to getting out and to picking up the pieces of their lives.

We met some of these people last year when they came out of prison to lend invaluable assistance to those who lost property and livelihoods in the bushfires that devastated Dunalley.

The work that they did in the aftermath of the Dunalley bushfires was remarkable. Working in small, supervised gangs, they took on tough, hard work to repair fences and clean up property that had been devastated by the fires. The farmers who worked with them appreciated their efforts. They fitted in well and they were respected for what they did. Importantly, they gained work-ready skills and an accredited training outcome as a result of this experience.

It set me to thinking. People doing time, pumping iron, getting bored in our prison system is a wasted resource. Tasmania has a huge problem meeting the cost of maintaining the national parks and reserves that we have so generously created for the generations to come. More than half the state is locked up, if you’ll pardon the pun.

In fact, in the current resource-constrained environment, we simply cannot meet the cost of maintaining our parks and reserves. With climate change, they become a potential threat each bushfire season. Pest animals and weeds abound. Fences need to be mended and maintained. These problems escape onto neighbouring properties, exacerbating risks and creating huge costs for the adjoining landowners.

At the same time, many low risk prisoners would welcome the opportunity to get out of their confinement and do something meaningful that will help them prepare for life after their sentence.

I am not talking slave labour, and I am not talking about a return to the days immediately after settlement when convicts were consigned to landholders.

I think these people could find rewarding work in our reserves and recreation areas and pick up on new skills and trades that they will be able to use in their life after prison.

It’s happening in the US. A 2011 feature article in the New York Times reported a positive reaction. Having a job in prison was linked to decreased violence, improved morale and lowered recidivism – but most effectively, when the task was purposeful.

“Using inmate labour has created unusual alliances: liberal humanitarian groups that advocate more education and exercise in prisons find themselves supporting proposals from conservative budget hawks to get inmates jobs, often outdoors, where they can learn new skills, ” Michael Jacobson, director of the Vera Institute of Justice, a research group in New York, commented.

“The days of just breaking rocks with sledgehammers are over. At the grossest financial level, it’s just savings. You can cut the government worker, save the salary and still maintain the service, and you’re providing a skill for when they leave.”

For many, prison is a wasted period in their lives. It sets them back. We could all assist to make it more productive – for them and for the community at large. That’s a win-win outcome.
TFGA chief executive Jan Davis