‘The state’s prison population has grown by a record 23 per cent – or 1268 prisoners – in the period starting shortly after the LNP won government. There are now 6898 prisoners in the state, compared with 5600 in June 2012. It costs $70,000 a year to keep a prisoner in a Queensland prison, according to figures from corrective services.’ Amy Remeikis reports (Brisbane Times, 30 July 2014) on the decision of Corrective Services to abolish the annual visits to prisons by the Catholic Prison Ministry and the Prisoners’ Legal Service. The report quotes Catholic Prison Ministry coordinator Dave Martin that the organisation’s recent report which was from the 2013 prison tour “focused on the lack of accommodation options, the lack of drug and alcohol services, the poor performance of the post release services offered by Corrective Services and how it is letting a lot of people down.”
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