Causes and Effects of Prison Populations Increase across Australia and West Australia over the Last Decade

Introduction
The rising population of prisoners in the Australian and West Australian jails has drawn the attention of both the government and the society at large. The talks of the conditions in Australian and West Australian has been the center stage of most political rallies, each political leader speaking their mind on this and even making promises. The past years have seen the jail population rise sharply. There is a plethora of reasons as to why this is so and there are corresponding effects this has had
on the prisoners and the economy in general. The number of old aged prisoners has increased correspondingly, the number of aboriginal prisoners both male and females also shot up and there has been rise in cases of health concerns in prisons. The rise can be attributed to non-parole legislations that have been passed as well as some factors that are explored in this paper. Some of the other causes of the increase include police discrimination, poverty, low levels of educations, drugs and substance abuse and family breakdown among others (Prenzler & Hayes, 2014). The aim of this paper is to explore on the reason as to why there has been an increase in the prison populations in both Australia and West Australia and also examine the consequent effects this has created.
Trends in Prison Populations in Australia and West Australia
West Australia has received recognition as being the state that has had high imprisonment rate second to the northern territory.  West Australia accounts for 11% of the total population in Australia. However, the population of prisoners in WA forms 15% of the total population of prisoners in Australia. The current rate of aboriginal adults is 265 people per 10000 adults (ABS, 2014). This is elevated compared to the rate set by the nation at 186 people per 10000 individuals. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2014) the number of Australian adult prisoners has risen over the 10 year period to 33,791 (ABS, 2014). This has also reflected an increase in the national rate of imprisonment to 186 prisoners per 100000 adult populations (ABS, 2014). One in every five adults; male and female, have at least been in prison because of serious offences that could have resulted to injuries. Torres Strait Islanders and aboriginal rates of incarceration have been seen to be the same (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2010). Women too are not left behind as the rate of increase in the number of female prisoners has been increasing (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2010). These trends are a clear indications that there is overcrowding in the Australian and West Australian prisons.
Causes of Prison Population Increase in Australia and West Australia
The population of prisoners in Australia and west Australia can be traced to a number of sources. One of the causes of the rising numbers of prisoners especially in WA has been double bunking. The practice that is now a norm of West Australia has been identified as the major cause of overcrowding as there is more operational space or capacity other than the recommended design capacity. Double bunking is a relative term used to describe the process where additional beds or mattresses are added in the cells (Treadwell, 2006). The other cause of overcrowding has been the increasing number of reoffenders. This is attributed to higher levels of drugs and substance abuse especially alcohol. There is also lack of services and low levels of education in West Australia as well as child abuse have been the source of re-incarceration. In West Australia the rate of male aboriginal male juvenile stands at 80% while that of women 64%. 70% of males reoffend in Australia (ABS, 2014). When the juvenile are incarcerated they spend too much time away from their families and friends and the rate of recidivism increases consequently. The juveniles return to jail two years from release, thus the increased numbers in prisons. Due to the rise in globalization and diversification of populations, the aboriginals are not able to live according to their traditions often at times coming into conflict with the law (Anthony & Cunneen, 2008). Additionally, the aboriginals are not well endowed with English language. For this reason they are highly likely to be sentenced to jails without their understanding.
There has also been rising in the number of women convicted for crime around Australia and West Australia. The cause of this has been poverty, poor education outcomes, domestic violence, and trauma on women (Graycar & Grabosky, 2002). As a result of these factors women resolve into substance abuse as the only way and when brought to book are directly jailed. Some women too have been jailed due to mental health concerns, debts, and socioeconomic disadvantage (Graycar & Grabosky, 2002). The country in general has moved to list more drugs as being illegal leading to a high number of cases being drug related. The drug detection technology, like urinalysis, has also made it easy to catch and jail offenders (Anthony & Cunneen, 2008). The presence of the police within West Australia and Australia has generally increased over the last decade. This has increased the number of offenders being apprehended and charged (Treadwell, 2006). Additionally, because of the multiracial placement of Australia and West Australia, some of the police men discriminate in their arrests (Heilbronn, 2008). The result of this has been the increase in the number of aboriginals in Australian and West Australian prisons.
The recent changes in the justice systems and attitudes to incarceration could also be attributed to as the major reasons why there is the ever increasing overcrowding in prisons (Tonry, 2011). First off, the public’s perception of crime has been heightened by the portrayal of crime in the media (Tonry, 2011). The public’s response to any form of sensational and violent crime has been appealing but on the other hand it has increased to the number of criminals being imprisoned (Heilbronn, 2008). The major cause for the rate of increase in the prison populations in Australia and West Australia is the law on parole, mandatory testing, and restriction to bail. The “tough on crime” policy has also been pinpointed by most literature to be a factor that chips in the increase in incarceration rates (Heilbronn, 2008). This approach has caused the West Australian Government to build more prisons and institute mandatory sentencing, minimum terms and reduced parole. The rate of recidivism has however, remained escalated. The Southern Australia and Victoria has also taken a lead on this and have introduced aggravated offences that carry hefty penalties (Tonry, 2011).
Queensland has also introduced the legislations on mandatory life sentences for certain sentences and standard periods of non-parole. The results of this policy have been the increase on the daily incarceration rate in Australia and West Australia. The stringent conditions of bail have also made most of the offenders to be remanded. As a result, the people always find themselves in prisons and stay there for longer periods (Graycar & Grabosky, 2002). Generally, crime is the major cause of the rise in population promulgated by the aforementioned factors. Some of the causes of crime include poverty, poor levels of education, homelessness drugs and substance abuse, family breakdown and violence, social exclusion, diversity of populations and systemic discrimination (Treadwell, 2006).
Effects of Increase in Prison Population in Australia and West Australia
The number of prisoner population means that there is overcrowding in prisons. This leads to the cramping of accommodation systems and sharing of cells in the case on double bunking. Baldwin & Leete (2012) and Dawes (2009) in their study find out that the increased rate of incarceration and periods for some offences have increased the number of aged population that is now suffering from dementia.  With the increased populations in the prisons there is likely to be an elevated number of communicable diseases (Anthony & Cunneen, 2008). The conditions in the prisons are overstretched thus breaching the sanitary standards required of such institutions. There has been reported an increased in the prevalence of hepatitis B among the prisoners (Dawes, 2009). 47% and 70% of male and female prisoners respectively, do suffer from hepatitis B (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2010).  The chances of spreading this disease to the healthy individuals in the prison are very high. Additionally, when the prisoners who acquire such infections are released they risk spreading the disease to their family members and the public. As a result of this the public health system has been overwhelmed by the increase in the number of communicable disease that follows the release of the prisoners (Kovandizic & Vieraitis, 2006).. There is also the increase of number of deaths due to drug overdose (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2010).
To run a prison the government needs to spend a lot of the tax payer’s money (O'Toole & Eyland, 2005). As a result, the financial and total costs are shifted to the society through taxes and inflation. The Western Australian prisons spend an average of $624 per person and $70 per individual, for adult and juveniles respectively. The Australian state in general spends $170 million annually on prisons alone, which is expected to rise with the increase in number of prison population. There is also an additional fund that is used in community supervision after release (O'Toole & Eyland, 2005). This has increased the government spending thus eating much of the funds that otherwise would be used to develop the economy (Ritchie, Freiberg, & Victoria, 2013). There are also social costs incurred when the prisoners increased. As observed, the rate of incarceration has increased especially for women (Wahidin & Aday, 2005). Children depending on their parents who have been jailed are likely to lose time in attending school when the parents are away (Hough, Allen, & Solomon, 2008). This also increases the chance of the children turning to crime so as to get food on the table (Wahidin & Aday, 2005). Spouses whose partners have been affected are usually excluded by the society leading to stigma (Ritchie et al, 2013). As a result, there could be an increase in the number of drug and substance abuse cases and serious crimes due to stress. Additionally, when the cognitive capacities of the relatives are impaired due to stress they develop stress and thus mental problems that further cost the economy of Australia (Hough, Allen, & Solomon, 2008). The economy also loses as the workforce that is required for jobs that build the economy (Hough, Allen, & Solomon, 2008).
The overcrowded conditions in jails pose suitable environments for violence (Tonry, 2001). This has been caused by the diversity in prisons (Ritchie et al, 2013). There is a higher level of traumatic brain injuries being reported in all crowded prisons across Australia. The prisoners who perceive themselves weak are disable in one way or the other are vulnerable to being abused sexually and physically assaulted by their able bodied peers (Levan, 2012).  Additionally, there is the increased cases of bullying in the prison and victimization based on the offense (Tonry, 2001). This has led to gangs within the prisons overwhelming even the prison staff (Tonry, 2001). Some of the effects of rising populations especially for juvenile and women means that the social unit of the society; family, is going to be affected (Levan, 2012). This will eventually hamper the country from meeting its millennium development goals (Kerbs & Jolley, 2007).
Conclusion
The rising number of prisoners in Australia and West Australia depict of the impacts of policies and legislations on the criminal justice system. There are a number of causes and effects alike, as identified in the paper. If the statistics are to go by, the country will be spending more in the coming years if corrigible measures are not placed. The family is disrupted and this has been the major cause that elevates the prison population. All the effects discussed above finally aggregate into one thing; cost.  The released prisoners find it hard to integrate to the society. To cut the cost, the laws that make mandatory sentencing and restriction of bail as well as non parole standards. This is a wakeup call for the government and policy makers to come up with viable strategies that can curtail the rise in the number of prisoners in Australia and its associated impacts. Research also needs to be done on the effects of the rise in population and the well being of the Australian states.

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