Vincent Siahaan’s journey to reintegrate into society after serving four and a half years in prison has been fraught with challenges. Once he was released on parole, he realized life outside was just as challenging if not more so than the existence he had abandoned. Siahaan was sentenced to nine years in prison for trafficking drugs. He’s sure that just as he has a hard time acclimating back to daily life, so do many former inmates.
Invevitably complicating the prison-to-freedom journey, the realities of navigating the transformative process illuminate a powerful shortcoming in Australia’s criminal justice system. Lorana Bartels, an associate criminology professor at the Australian National University, writes about a grim milestone. Second, Australia has one of the world’s highest rates of recidivism. “One common measure [of calculating recidivism rates] is what proportion of people who are in prison have been in prison previously,” Bartels stated. She made the case that Australia’s recidivism rate is now over 60 percent. This is a dramatic contrast to the 20 percent average in most other countries.
That makes former inmates like Siahaan and Mitchell Harnwell, who we introduced earlier, finding jobs after incarceration an uphill battle. Harnwell spent almost four years bouncing back and forth through the prison system due to her struggles with drug addiction. He underscored building economic stability as a foremost priority. “When you need money to pay bills, you do what you need to do to get by,” he said.
For people who have served long sentences, adjusting to the outside world may feel especially overwhelming at first. Bartels points out that we constantly send people back to places with no support structure. “They are often returning to areas with lower employment prospects, poorer health opportunities, greater housing and economic stress,” she explained. These individual and systemic factors push these men back into the life of crime.
Nicole Dwyer, CEO of Workskil Australia, emphasized the role that employment plays in reducing recidivism rates. Her organization serves about 3,000 ex-offenders nationwide, working with them to ensure that they can overcome obstacles to finding and keeping a job. “For someone coming out of prison, if they don’t have housing, if they don’t have a job, if they can’t read and write, if they have untreated mental health and alcohol and drug issues … the chances of them managing to stay out of prison are pretty low,” Bartels noted.
Siahaan’s journey took a positive turn when he became a certified personal trainer and established his own business with his wife’s support. He understands the importance of a regular routine and accountability. “It’s hard if you have no support. It’s hard if you don’t have a roof over your head,” he said.
We know that beyond these successes, many of these former inmates face obstacles due to the stigma attached to their pasts. Siahaan recalled his job search after release: “I did sit for some interviews, and I’d have to tell them that I’d need to take some time off each week to see my parole officer, and they’d say ‘that’s fine, we’ll get back to you.’ No one did.” This constant barrage of negativity only serves to push people back onto familiar paths.
Mitchell Harnwell faced similar setbacks. He recounted how quickly he relapsed after his release. “It was easier to make a phone call and start selling again, and then with selling it becomes using, and it’s the same cycle,” he explained. Yet the lure of old habits is hard to resist when confronted with such economic despair.
Some demographics struggle even more when released, as noted by criminologist Lorana Bartels. Statistically, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are much more likely to re-enter custody. This trend applies to individuals with backgrounds from rural or remote communities as well. “You won’t be as inclined to stray if you have people holding you accountable and you have something to wake up to every morning — but a lot of people don’t get that chance,” she added.
The Justice Reform Initiative is working feverishly to get to the heart of these systemic problems by calling for a reduction in imprisonment rates across Australia. With a focus on rehabilitation instead of retribution, they’re helping to open doors for ex-offenders to find their places again in society.
Dwyer stresses that steady work in law is critical for forming a new, non-criminal identity. “Many people who have been in the system for a long time may not know any [other] way of life other than committing crime and hanging out with other people who commit crime,” she stated.
