The adage that ‘crime doesn’t pay’ is certainly true. But that’s not to say it doesn’t come at a high cost.

The direct financial drain on the State Budget is great and increasing.

The price paid by victims of crime is not only financial but can be psychological as well.

And the ‘opportunity cost’ of not being able to invest the State’s limited resources in more productive infrastructure, incentives to economic growth and much needed social services, rather than prisons,  is inestimable.

The existing incarceration and rehabilitation regime is not working well enough – 73 per cent of the current prisoner population in South Australia has been in jail before, and 46 per cent of people leaving prison re-offend within two years of release.

Nearly 80% of the Department of Correctional Services current budget of $314 million – which has more than doubled in the past decade – is spent on custodial costs.

The State Government has spent $350 million adding 1,120 new prison beds to its capacity in the past decade.

Research in the UK suggests that it’s possible to reduce re-offending rates by between one-third and a half if ex-offenders can secure employment after leaving prison.

Against that background, Business SA welcomes the State Government’s Reducing Reoffending -10% by 2020 initiative.

In order to achieve that goal, we have to know what we are dealing with in terms of business community sentiment and potential opportunities to engage and be part of the solution.

So Business SA has entered a partnership with the State Government and Flinders University to launch a survey and tap the perceptions of business owner-managers.

The information and analysis of the survey results – which will be followed by focus group discussions – will inform the recommendations to be made by an independent panel that is advising the Reducing Reoffending -10% by 2020 project.

Reducing re-offending rates by 10% by 2020 would generate potential cost savings of $20 million per year.
However, there is more at stake here than a Budget line item.

The economic and social cost of crime in South Australia is substantial. It compromises the ability of the State to reach its true potential in terms of economic output and jobs.

It also defines the nature of our society at a time when our community is coming under increasing strain with industry restructuring and high unemployment.

The Reducing Reoffending -10% by 2020 initiative is a valuable step in the right direction and I urge as many South Australian businesses as possible to complete the survey.

Nikki Govan is Deputy Chair of Business SA and a member of the Reducing Reoffending advisory panel.

Respondents to the online survey, to be found at www.business-sa.com/reducingreoffending will have a chance to win a Microsoft Surface Pro 4.