Big jump in prison rates prompts call for justice reforms in Tasmania

A group of prominent Tasmanians, including three former politicians, is calling on the major parties to ditch the proposed northern prison, in the wake of a damning report into the state’s justice system.

Instead of the divisive Westbury proposal, the group wants to see more money on preventative and rehabilitative services.

The report by the Justice Reform Initiative — a national multi-partisan alliance that wants to end Australia’s “dangerously high reliance on jails” — reveals Tasmania’s prison population…