THERE will be a sense of relief that a convicted sex offender was yesterday located by police after escaping from Ararat correctional facility Corella Place.
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However, there will be little solace in the man, who cannot be identified due to a court order, being found in a public toilet block in the centre of Ballarat.
The man’s escape sparked a large-scale search of not only Ararat, but surrounding areas throughout last week.
What is troubling about the circumstances is this is not the first escape from a correctional facility in the Ballarat region in recent years.
In fact, there’s been several from Ararat and, closer to town, Langi Kal Kal prison.
As the resident population in Victoria’s jails continues to grow in line with steeper penalties and fewer loopholes to avoid imprisonment, the challenge of maintaining efficient and safe facilities becomes a more significant task. Already we’re seeing the impact, with prisoners being forced into renovated shipping containers at some facilities and campaigns to entice more correctional officers for employment.
If it wasn’t already obvious before this latest escape, authorities will now be acutely aware that the community expects better, both by ensuring those who flout the law are caught and dealt with appropriately and those who are penalised with prison or confinement are held accountable to the sentence.
ABC cuts to hit hard in rural communities
The first, and seemingly inevitable, swing of the axe at the ABC will be one greeted with satisfaction from right-leaning commentators.
It follows the federal government’s decision to cut the Australia Network, operated by the ABC.
The job cuts, however, are broader and that gives rise to concerns about more localised future measures.
What the government and ABC management must remember is that the public broadcaster is sometimes the only source of news and information in some rural and regional communities.
Any reduction of services in these communities will hit hard – in heartlands often aligned to conservative politics.