COVID-19 and Corrections in Australia: A Summary Review of the Available Data and Literature

ABSTRACT

In March 2020, COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic and at the time of writing, there were more than 13 million known cases and more than 500,000 deaths. Not since the Spanish Flu of 1918 has the world needed to respond to the potential threat of a communicable disease with such a high rate of infection and fatality. Using publicly available data, media sources, and literature, this paper maps Australian corrective services’ responses to COVID-19. We find evidence of a concerted effort to reduce prison population numbers, as well as to recalibrate corrections practice in an effort to meet new social-distancing rules and regulations. Our analysis is motivated by the knowledge that prior to COVID-19, Australia had a rising prison population, a disproportionate growth in female and remand populations, and significant Indigenous overrepresentation. In this paper, we explore whether the immediate benefits of COVID-19 have helped or hindered efforts to address these wider concerns.

KEYWORDS:

• Prisons
• prison resources
• crime trends
• COVID-19
• pandemic
• alternatives to incarceration
• early release mechanisms
• prison reform

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Corrective Services Sources

This paper has been written with reference to a large number of digital sources and news updates from each state and territory. A link to each jurisdiction is provided below.

Australian Capital Territory Corrective Services:

https://www.coronavirus.dcj.nsw.gov.au/

Northern Territory Correctional Services:

https://coronavirus.nt.gov.au/

Queensland Corrective Services:

https://corrections.qld.gov.au/

South Australia Department for Correctional Services:

https://www.corrections.sa.gov.au/

Corrections Victoria:

https://www.corrections.vic.gov.au/covid19

Western Australia Corrective Services:

https://www.correctiveservices.wa.gov.au/

Notes

1. This section summarizes information gathered from each of the State and Territory websites. A list of web links and sources is provided in the reference list.

2. Overall, the Northern Territory had the least publicly available information about Corrective Services responses to COVID-19 and the information that was available was difficult to navigate.