Jail costs far outweigh rehabilitation
Now the economic arguments support the moral arguments – drug and alcohol rehabilitation produces far more cost-effective and socially-effective results than jail terms.
Over $100,000 can be saved per year per person by diverting non-violent Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander offenders with substance abuse problems into treatment instead of prison.This is according to a new report launched in Parliament House today, highlighting that Indigenous people make up 26% of Australia’s adult prison population, and that drug and alcohol rehabilitation would help solve the route of this problem more than prison sentences would. The report also reveals that $92,000 will be saved per offender in the long term due to lower mortality and better health related quality of life outcomes.