Ms Molly Joyce:

In the justice plan, there is a plan to review the criminal justice (community sanctions) Bill 2014. As the Chairman can see from the year, it has been on the books for a long time, so it would be great to get it over the line. The review will cover the available options.

I have worked in another jurisdiction with people coming out of prison. We need an intensive programme, staffing and resources. We need people who can go on that journey with the person. It is not a simple matter. We cannot send someone to a residential programme for two weeks and believe it will undo a lifetime of trauma and disadvantage. We need to have realistic alternatives and talk about where we are putting our money. Prison is costly and community sanctions are cheaper. We must resist the urge to react in an immediate way. For example, increasing sentences seems like a cost-neutral measure to respond to something, but it is not cost neutral. It is actually very expensive. This is a question of reassessing where we are putting our resources.