Weekend detention is supposed to be a way of punishing people for crime without imposing some of the destructive elements of full-time imprisonment. Full-time imprisonment inevitably means loss of job and great suffering for the family of the prisoner. It also means greater cost to society in both the imprisonment and in attempting to rehabilitate prisoners. And society benefits from the community work done by the prisoners. Weekend detention, therefore, is a worthwhile scheme. It satisfies society’s desire to see punishment. It can also serve as a dire warning to an offender as a taste of the real thing and a warning that the real thing is next if any further offence takes place.
However, the practice in the ACT appears not to be living up to the ideal in all cases. A quarter of those sentenced for weekend, have had their sentences cancelled for disciplinary problems. This, on its face would not indicate a collapse of the scheme. To the contrary it might show the scheme working: retribution for those who do not live up to their end of the bargain. But digging a little deeper, we find that of the 14 who comprise the recidivist quarter, eight are at large but subject to arrest warrants. Three have been jailed and three are being processed by the courts. So of 51 people sentenced to weekend detention, about 15 per cent are at large. The few are spoiling it for the many.
Police say that many offenders are turning up for detention with drugs, or not turning up at all, or giving a medical certificate and being found wandering around Civic.
It is not good enough. Weekend detention is already the last chance. Any breach should mean automatic reversion to full-time detention. Otherwise the whole scheme is in jeopardy.