Bishops worried about jails

BENDIGO bishops Andrew Curnow and Joseph Grech have joined a campaign demanding a safer Victoria.They are among 11 church leaders who have signed an open letter to the state government and candidates in the November 27 election, calling for community safety issues to be addressed.Anglican Bishop Andrew Curnow said an inter-church criminal justice taskforce had put together the letter out of growing concern.The letter, from the Victorian heads of churches, outlines the “significant problems” in Victoria’s justice system, noting that 50 per cent of prisoners return to jail after release and there was a 49 per cent increase in jail beds during the past decade.“Our concerns are the expanding prison problems and we want to solve those problems,” Bishop Curnow said.“I’m particularly concerned about the number of people in prison with mental health problems.“There are also many with very little education or who are illiterate – only six per cent of Victorian prisoners have completed secondary education.”Bishop Curnow said the only weakness in the letter was its failure to suggest solutions.“I think there needs to be more funds for mental health,” he said.“A lot who end up in prison have significant mental health issues. Behind the crime are significant mental health issues.“I’d like to see something done to help prisoners get an education – if they can’t read and write when they get out of prison they can’t get a job.”Bishop Curnow said he wanted to see Victoria keep at the cutting edge of crime prevention. Other signatories to the letter include the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart and the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne Philip Freier.The letter highlights the idea that imprisonment and longer sentences are not the most effective way to reduce crime, while calling for adequate support for families, child protection, early learning programs, affordable housing, mental health services, family violence programs, work opportunities and drug and alcohol counselling.