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2006 Prison Stats |
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PRISONER SNAPSHOT
Prisoner numbers have increased by 42% in last 10 years.
At 30 June 2006 there were 25,790 prisoners (sentenced and unsentenced) in Australian prisons, an increase of 2% (437 prisoners) from 30 June 2005. This represented an imprisonment rate of 163 prisoners per 100,000 adult population.
Unsentenced prisoners comprised 22% (5,581) of the total prisoner population, an increase of 9% (448 prisoners) since 30 June 2005. Most (57% or 14,676) prisoners had served a sentence in an adult prison prior to the current episode. The offence/charge of acts intended to cause injury accounted for the highest proportion (18% or 4,630) of all prisoners. Of the total prisoner population, 7% (1,827) were female and 24% (6,091) were Indigenous. The median age of all prisoners was 33 years. Three quarters of the total prisoner population was located in New South Wales (38% or 9,822), Queensland (22% or 5,562) and Victoria (15% or 3,905).
The median age of all prisoners in Australian prisons at 30 June 2006 was 33 years. Most prisoners (70%) were aged between 20 and 39. Prisoners aged less than 20 comprised 3% of the total prisoner population. Adult prisoner numbers have increased by (42%) over the last decade, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
There were 25,800 people in Australian adult prisons at June 2006 - an increase of 2% over the previous year. This represented an imprisonment rate of 163 prisoners per 100,000 adult population.
Most Prevalent Offences
The most prevalent offences for sentenced prisoners were: 'acts intended to cause injury, including assault' (15%); 'sexual assault and unlawful entry with intent' (both 12%); 'homicide'; 'robbery and extortion'; and 'illicit drug offences' (all 10%).
The proportion of sentenced prisoners with a most serious offence of 'robbery and extortion' decreased from 14% in 2001 to 10% in 2006. 'Acts intended to cause injury' increased over this same period (from 12% in 2001 to 15% in 2006).
Half (10,200) of the sentenced prisoner population were sentenced in the 12 months preceding 30 June 2006. Sentenced prisoners had an average sentence length of 4.9 years, while the average expected time to serve was 3.5 years.
Other facts as of 30 June 2006 were:
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- There were 13 times more men in prison than women (24,000 men and 1,800 women)
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- Indigenous prisoners comprised 24% (6,100) of the total prisoner population
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- The number of male prisoners increased by 1% (or 350 prisoners) from 30 June 2005 while the number of female prisoners increased by 5% (90)
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- The median age of all prisoners was 33 years
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- The majority (70%) of prisoners were aged between 20 and 39 years
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- There were 5,600 unsentenced prisoners, an increase of 9% from 30 June 2005
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- Unsentenced prisoners in custody were on remand for an average of 4.9 months.
Changes in the Prisoner Population
The total prisoner population increased by 2% from 25,353 on 30 June 2005 to 25,790 on 30 June 2006. Over the ten year period, from 1996, the prisoner population increased by 42%.
Change in Prisoner Numbers Between 30 June 2005 and 30 June 2006
Between 2005 and 2006, the prisoner population increased in all states and territories except for the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. The decrease in the Australian Capital Territory is due to a change in the way the Australian Capital Territory counts periodic detainees (see Explanatory Notes, paragraph 77). Tasmania decreased by 7% and the Northern Territory by 3%. The highest proportional increases were for South Australia and Victoria (both 6%) followed by Queensland (4%).
Indigenous Prisoners
Indigenous prisoners represented 24% of the total prisoner population at 30 June 2006, the highest proportion at 30 June since 1996.
The proportion of prisoners that were Indigenous was variable across states and territories. In the Northern Territory 82% of the prisoner population was Indigenous while Victoria had the lowest proportion (6%).
When comparing rates of imprisonment for Indigenous and non-Indigenous prisoners, it is recommended that age standardised rates be used. (For further explanation refer to Explanatory Notes, paragraphs 24-29.) The age standardised rate of Indigenous imprisonment was 1,668 per 100,000 adult Indigenous population, 13 times more than the non-Indigenous rate at 30 June 2006.
Indigenous persons were 18 times more likely to be in prison than non-Indigenous persons in Western Australia. In Tasmania, Indigenous persons were 3 times more likely to be in prison, recording the lowest age standardised ratio of Indigenous to non-Indigenous rates of imprisonment.
Age and Sex
Males dominated the prisoner population comprising 93% (23,963) of the total, whilst females comprised 7% (1,827). The number of female prisoners increased by 5% (93) from 30 June 2005, whilst the number of male prisoners increased by 1% (344) for this same period. Over the last 10 years the number of female prisoners has increased by 90% from 964 at 30 June 1996 to 1,827 at 30 June 2006. The number of male prisoners has increased by 39% from 17,229 to 23,963 for the same period.
Indigenous Prisoners
The age profile of Indigenous prisoners differed to non-Indigenous prisoners. The median age of Indigenous prisoners was 31 while non-Indigenous prisoners was 34. There were proportionally more Indigenous prisoners (83%) aged under 40, than non-Indigenous prisoners (70%).
Sentenced Prisoners
There were 20,209 sentenced prisoners in Australian prisons at 30 June 2006, a decrease of less than 1% since 30 June 2005 (20,220).
Most Serious Offence
Six offences accounted for 70% of sentenced prisoners: acts intended to cause injury (15%); sexual assault and unlawful entry with intent (both 12%); homicide, illicit drug offences, and robbery and extortion (all 10%).
Over the past 5 years, the proportion of sentenced prisoners with an offence of acts intended to cause injury increased from 12% in 2001 to 15% in 2006. The proportion of prisoners with an offence of robbery and extortion decreased over the same period from 14% in 2001 to 10% in 2006.
Most Serious Offence - Indigenous Prisoners
Over 40% of all Indigenous prisoners were sentenced for acts intended to cause injury (28%) and unlawful entry with intent (14%). In comparison, these offences accounted for just over 20% of all non-Indigenous sentenced prisoners, with acts intended to cause injury and unlawful entry with intent both at 11%. Indigenous sentenced prisoners with an offence of illicit drugs comprised 2% of the total number of sentenced Indigenous prisoners compared to 13% of non-Indigenous sentenced prisoners.
Prisoners Sentenced in the Last 12 Months
Half (or 10,154) of all sentenced prisoners were sentenced in the 12 months preceding 30 June 2006. Of those prisoners sentenced in the last 12 months, 61% had served a sentence in an adult prison prior to the current episode being served.
Sentence Lengths - Aggregate Sentence Length
Of all sentenced prisoners, 5% were serving life or another indeterminate sentence, while a further 4% were serving a sentence of periodic detention (available in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory only). Of the remaining sentenced prisoners, the majority (63%) had an aggregate sentence length of less than 5 years. Those with an aggregate sentence length of less than 2 years comprised 35% of all sentenced prisoners.
Excluding prisoners with indeterminate, life and periodic detention sentences, the median aggregate sentence length for sentenced prisoners was 3 years (36 months). (See paragraphs 56-58 of the Explanatory Notes for information about interpreting mean and median sentence lengths based on a census 'snapshot'). The longest median aggregate sentence lengths were for homicide (15 years or 180.1 months), sexual assault (7 years or 84 months) and robbery and extortion (6 years or 72 months). The median aggregate sentence lengths for all three of these offences have remained unchanged since 30 June 2005.
Most Serious Charge
Of the unsentenced prisoners, 29% had a most serious charge of acts intended to cause injury, followed by unlawful entry with intent (12%).
Caution should be exercised when comparing most serious charge between 2006 and previous years, as movements have been impacted by a change to the classification used to determine most serious charge for some states and territories (see Explanatory Notes paragraph 63).
Time on Remand
Time on remand is influenced by a number of factors, including the time it takes for a case to come before a court, and eligibility for and availability of bail. The median number of months spent on remand by unsentenced prisoners in custody at 30 June 2006 was 2.6 months. (See paragraphs 56-58 of the Explanatory Notes for information about interpreting median time on remand based on a census 'snapshot'). The longest amount of time spent on remand was by prisoners charged with homicide (median of 8.8 months), followed by sexual assault (median of 4.5 months).
Indigenous Unsentenced Prisoners
Indigenous unsentenced prisoners were more likely to be on remand for acts intended to cause injury (45%) than non-Indigenous unsentenced prisoners (24%). Indigenous unsentenced prisoners were less likely to be on remand for charges of homicide and related offences (7% of Indigenous remandees, 10% of non-Indigenous remandees) and illicit drug offences (1% of Indigenous remandees, 10% non-Indigenous remandees).
The median time spent on remand by Indigenous prisoners at 30 June 2006 was 2.1 months, less than that spent on remand by non-Indigenous prisoners (2.9 months). The median time on remand by Indigenous prisoners was less than non-Indigenous prisoners for almost all charge types except sexual assault (5.6 months for Indigenous prisoners compared to 4.4 months for non-Indigenous prisoners), unlawful entry with intent (2.2 months compared to 2.0 months respectively) and public order offences (1.9 months compared to 1.7 months respectively).
Periodic Detainees
The sentencing option of periodic detention, where detainees are in custody for two consecutive days in a week and remain at liberty the rest of the week, is available only in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. There were 777 periodic detainees at 30 June 2006. The number of periodic detainees decreased since 2005 both in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, however the decrease in the Australian Capital Territory is due to a change in the way the Australian Territory counts periodic detainees (see Explanatory Notes, paragraph 77). In New South Wales the number of periodic detainees decreased by 15% (from 855 in 2005 to 724 in 2006).
Sources:
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LINK: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/cfi/cfi093.gif
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Prison Statistics |
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At 30 June 2005 there were 25,353 prisoners (sentenced and unsentenced) in Australian prisons, an increase of 5% (1,182 prisoners) since 30 June 2004.
This represented an imprisonment rate of 163 prisoners per 100,000 of the adult population. Unsentenced prisoners comprised 20% (5,133) of the total prisoner population. Most (60% or 15,308) prisoners had served a sentence in an adult prison prior to the current episode. Of the total prisoner population, 7% (1,734) were female and 22% (5,656) were Indigenous. The median age of all prisoners was 32 years.
New South Wales held the largest number of prisoners (39% or 9,819), followed by Queensland (21% or 5,354), Victoria (15% or 3,692) and Western Australia (14% or 3,482).
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
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