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 - QUEENSLAND


TOTAL PRISONER NUMBERS

  • In 2013, the overall prison population increased 9 per cent (483 prisoners) to 6,076 from 2012.
  • The (crude) imprisonment rate increased from 159 per 100,000 to 169 per 100,000 in 2013.

SEX
  • In 2013, the male population increased 8 per cent (422 persons) from 2012.
  • In 2013, the female population increased 13 per cent (61 persons) from 2012.

AGE
  • In 2013, the median age of prisoners in Queensland was 32.9 years.

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PRISONERS
  • In 2013, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners made up 31 per cent of the prison population.

MOST SERIOUS OFFENCE
  • In 2013, the five most common offences for Queensland were:
    • Acts intended to cause injury (23 per cent; 1,368 persons)
    • Unlawful entry with intent (15 percent; 930 persons)
    • Sexual assault and related offences (12 per cent: 712 persons)
    • Robbery, extortion and related offences (11 per cent; 645 persons)
    • Homicide and related offences (10 per cent; 600 persons)

AGE-STANDARDISED RATES
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander adults was 1,522 per 100,000 of the relevant population.
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for non-indigenous adults was 125 per 100,000 of the relevant population.
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander adults was 12.2 times that of non-indigenous adults.

TYPICAL SENTENCE LENGTH
  • The median aggregate sentence length for sentenced prisoners was 3.0 years.

PRISONERS ON REMAND
  • In 2013, unsentenced prisoners comprised 22 per cent of prisoners.
  • Median time spent on remand was 3.5 months.

PRIOR IMPRISONMENT
  • In 2013, 65 per cent of prisoners had known prior adult imprisonment.

COUNTRY OF BIRTH
  • In 2013, 87 per cent of prisoners were born in Australia, followed by 4 per cent born in New Zealand.

OTHER KEY POINTS
  • In 2013, Queensland had the largest increase in prisoner numbers (483 prisoners), followed by Victoria (456 prisoners).
  • At 30 June 2013, Queensland had the highest median number of months spent on remand by unsentenced prisoners in custody (3.5 months), followed by New South Wales (3.3 months).


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.