"This paper has been written to inform the development of a set of policy recommendations which will be presented to political parties and electoral candidates prior to the November 2014 Victorian State Election. It will also be used as background information for a brochure to be prepared for congregations and the wider community, and for other advocacy purposes.
Drawing on discussions of the Inter-church Criminal Justice Taskforce discussions to date, the paper seeks to

• Reflect best practice policies in each area of concern (refer to the Table of Contents for the policy areas)
• Show how government can migrate from current practice to where we would like criminal justice policy to go
• Provide cogent argument for policy change – the government is seeking better, more cost-effective ways than the present way. The paper outlines alternative approaches to current problems.

The paper will be supplemented on the Victorian Council of Churches website with successor documents as they become available."

Please click here for the rest of the paper (36 pages)

Update:

'I was in prison and you visited Me'
A Christian approach to criminal justice

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TO SUPPORT A FAIRER APPROACH
TO TREATING VICTIMS OF CRIME AND THOSE WHO BREAK THE LAW

Take the challenge! Eat like a Refugee for a week to support Refugees living on the Thai-Burma Border.

Eat the same rations as a refugee from Burma for one week, raise money, and show them they're not alone.

For more: www.actforpeace.org.au/rationchallenge