Beyond bars: Exploring challenges and solutions to the problem of short custodial stays in regional South Australia

The problem of short custodial stays has beset criminal justice systems for decades. In a national first and in partnership with Centacare Catholic Country SA, the Centre for Social Impact at Flinders University’s Beyond Bars project analyses the problem of short custodial stays in two regional communities that house prisons – Port Augusta and Port Lincoln. The focus on regional communities is deliberate and motivated by knowledge that firstly, two thirds of South Australia’s prisons are located in rural and remote communities. Secondly, regional communities often have unique challenges. Through analysis of Department of Correctional Services data covering all episodes of prison release over a five-year period and multi-sectoral stakeholder roundtables in each regional community, this project aimed to:

1. Explore the scale and nature of the problem of short custodial stays in the two regional communities and similarities and differences between them.
2. Identify challenges arising from short custodial stays in relation to local social services provision.
3. Investigate and propose more effective approaches to improve policy and practice

Analysis of custodial data showed that overwhelmingly, prison episodes in both Port Augusta Prison (PAP) and Port Lincoln Prison (PLP) involve short custodial stays: 80.2% of all custodial stays involved 6 months or less and 56.5% involved 3 months or less. Moreover, 15 people are released from PAP every week following short custodial stays or 60 people every month following short custodial stays. Stakeholders in Port Augusta and Port Lincoln were unanimous that short custodial stays, and the associated challenges they create for (re)integration, are a problem in their communities. Key challenges included: the complexity of needs of people on short custodial stays; the lack of safe and secure housing options for people leaving prison; lack of knowledge for people exiting prison about available social and health services and where and how to access them, minimal coordinated collaboration between correctional services and the social and health service ecosystems, lack of culturally relevant services, and the sheer scale of the flow of people exiting post short-custodial stays.

Importantly, by working with local stakeholders this research has brought to light ways to mitigate associated harms for the benefit of people exiting prison and the communities in which prisons are located. Three key recommendations are to provide: 1. Outside the gate step-down transitional accommodation that could provide immediate access to a safe, secure ‘landing pad’ to aid reintegration journeys; 2. A social services and health hub to provide a one stop shop with access to common re(integration) needs; and 3. Wayfinding champions — Reaching into prisons and connecting to community to facilitate meaningful connections to the community.