The ethnic make up is reasonably steady but the gang population incarcerated has leapt. At September 2010:
23 per cent of the total prison population are gang members
According to the 2001 Prison census:
The percentage of male sentenced inmates who were patch members or associates of gangs decreased between 1991 and 1993 from 20 percent to 16 percent, and has stayed at this lower level until 2001 when it appears to have dropped to 13 percent. The Mongrel Mob and Black Power continue to have the largest number of patch members in prison.
And rough calculations show that keeping gang members in prison costs around $183 million per annum. Gulp.
But what the hell. Just as long as we are winning that war on drugs. We are aren't we?
2.1 percent of the population have used amphetamines in the past year.
Convictions for P-related offences continue to rise and seizures of the drug at the border are slightly up.
But the number of frequent users seeking treatment has remained the same.
1 comment:
The problem is not "the war on drugs"
The problem is the very expensive social welfare we provide to drug dealers.
There is a simple straightforward solution to this problem - charging the criminals or their families to provide this social welfare, and if they are unable to cover the full cost at time of sentencing, adopting a sentence that is as cost neutral as possible.
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