4517.0 - Prisoners in Australia, 2013 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 05/12/2013   
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PRISONERS IN AUSTRALIA, 2013 - NEW SOUTH WALES


TOTAL PRISONER NUMBERS

  • At 30 June 2013, the overall prison population increased 3 per cent (252 prisoners) to 9,897 from 2012.
  • The number of periodic detainees fell from 23 in 2012 to 7 in 2013.
  • The (crude) imprisonment rate increased from 171 per 100,000 in 2012 to 173 per 100,000 in 2013.

SEX
  • In 2013, the male population increased 3 per cent (239 persons) from 2012.
  • In 2013, the female population increased 2 per cent (13 persons) from 2012.

AGE
  • In 2013, the median age of prisoners in New South Wales was 34.2 years.

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PRISONERS
  • In 2013, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners made up 23 per cent of the prison population.

MOST SERIOUS OFFENCE
  • In 2013, the five most common offences for New South Wales were:
    • Acts intended to cause injury (19 per cent; 1,867 persons)
    • Illicit drug offences (16 per cent; 1,576 persons)
    • Offences against justice procedures, government security and operations (10 per cent; 1,033 persons)
    • Robbery, extortion and related offences (10 per cent; 1,028 persons)
    • Unlawful entry with intent (9 per cent; 878 persons).

AGE-STANDARDISED RATES
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander adults was 1,916 per 100,000 of the relevant population.
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for non-Indigenous adults was 142 per 100,000 of the relevant population.
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander adults was 13.5 times that of non-indigenous adults.

TYPICAL SENTENCE LENGTH
  • The median aggregate sentence length for sentenced prisoners was 3.6 years.

PRISONERS ON REMAND
  • In 2013, unsentenced prisoners comprised 28 per cent of prisoners.
  • Median time spent on remand was 3.3 months.

PRIOR IMPRISONMENT
  • In 2013, 55 per cent of prisoners had a known prior adult imprisonment.

COUNTRY OF BIRTH
  • In 2013, 75 per cent of prisoners were born in Australia, followed by 3 per cent born in New Zealand.

OTHER KEY POINTS
  • In 2013, New South Wales held the largest prisoner population in Australia (32 per cent or 9,897).
  • In 2013, New South Wales, Western Australia and Tasmania are the only jurisdictions to show a fall in the number of sentenced prisoners.


For further information, please consult the Prisoners in Australia, 2013 (cat. no 4517.0) publication, or contact NIRS on 1300 135 070. When reporting ABS statistics, please attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) as the source.