Abduction and related offences
Acts intended to unlawfully deprive another person of their freedom of movement against that person's will or against the will of any parent, guardian or other person having lawful custody or care of that person.
Acts intended to cause injury
Acts, excluding attempted murder and those resulting in death, which are intended to cause non-fatal injury or harm to another person and where there is no sexual or acquisitive element.
Adult
An adult prisoner is a person who is aged 18 years and over in all states and territories except Victoria and Queensland where an adult prisoner is a person aged 17 years and over. See also paragraph 11 of the Explanatory Notes.
Age standardised imprisonment rates
Age standardised imprisonment rates enable the comparison of imprisonment rates between populations with different age structures by relating them to a standard population. The current standard population is all persons in the 2001 Australian population. Age standardised imprisonment rates are expressed per 100,000 persons. For further information refer to Appendix 2 - Indigenous Imprisonment Rates.
Aggregate sentence
The longest period that the offender may be detained under sentence in the current episode.
Australian Standard Offence Classification (ASOC)
The ASOC is a hierarchical classification developed by the ABS for use in the collection and publication of crime and justice statistics. It provides a classificatory framework for the comparison of statistics on offences across Australia. It replaces the Australian National Classification of Offences and resulted both from the need to update the existing classification and to address its recognised deficiencies.
Country of birth
This is determined by corrective services agencies from prisoner interviews. Information in this report on country of birth is classified according to the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC) (cat. no. 1269.0). Most corrective services agencies do not yet use SACC in their information systems, so information supplied by these agencies has been derived from data coded to local country of birth classifications.
Dangerous or negligent acts endangering persons
Dangerous or negligent acts which, though not intended to cause harm, actually or potentially result in injury to oneself or another person.
Deception and related offences
The use of deception, secret agreements or the making of false instruments with the intent of dishonestly obtaining property, services or other advantage.
Expected time to serve
The period of imprisonment which a convicted prisoner is expected to serve. In most cases this refers to the time elapsed between the date of reception for this episode and the earliest date of release.
Homicide and related offences
The unlawful killing, attempted unlawful killing or conspiracy to kill another person.
Illicit drug offences
The possession, sale, dealing or trafficking, importing or exporting, manufacture or cultivation of drugs or other substances prohibited under legislation.
Imprisonment rate
Imprisonment rates enable comparison of prisoner populations across states and territories. Imprisonment rates are expressed per 100,000 adult population (see also Age standardised imprisonment rates in this Glossary).
Indigenous prisoners
The Indigenous prisoner count is the total of all prisoners who self identified as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin at the time of reception.
Jurisdiction
The state or territory in which a prisoner is held in custody, regardless of which state or territory has imposed the sentence being served (see paragraphs 14-15 of Explanatory Notes).
Level of court
A separate tier of the court system, each of which is established under legislation and has certain prescribed powers. Court levels are distinguished from one another on the basis of the extent of their legal powers.
Maximum-minimum (max-min)
See Type of sentence in this Glossary.
Miscellaneous offences
Offences involving the breach of statutory rules or regulations governing activities that are prima facie legal, where such offences are not explicitly dealt with under any other division of ASOC, including:
- harassment and related offences
- public health and safety offences
- commercial/industry/financial regulations.
Most serious charge
For unsentenced prisoners, whether convicted or not, the most serious charge is the charge which carries the longest statutory maximum penalty (see paragraph 66 of Explanatory Notes).
Most serious offence
For sentenced prisoners, the most serious offence is the offence for which the prisoner has received the longest sentence in the current episode for a single count of the offence (see paragraphs 64-65 of Explanatory Notes).
Offences against justice procedures, government security and government operations
An act or omission that is deemed to be prejudicial to the effective carrying out of justice procedures or any government operations. This includes general government operations as well as those specifically concerned with maintaining government security.
Periodic detainees
Sentenced prisoners who are required to be held in custody for two consecutive days in a one-week period. See also Type of sentence - Periodic detention in this Glossary.
Prior imprisonment
Persons known to have been imprisoned under sentence in an adult prison. Prior sentence of periodic detention is included as prior imprisonment. Prisoners who have had previous adult imprisonment in another state or territory may not be counted as having prior imprisonment.
Prisoner
A person held in custody. For the purposes of this collection, prisoners are those whose confinement is the responsibility of a corrective services agency.
Property damage and environmental pollution
The wilful and unlawful destruction, damage or defacement of public or private property, or the pollution of property or a definable entity held in common by the community.
Public order offences
Offences involving personal conduct that:
- involves or may lead to a breach of public order and decency
- is indicative of criminal intent
- is otherwise regulated or prohibited on moral or ethical grounds.
In general these offences do not involve a specific victim or victims, however some offences, such as offensive language and offensive behaviour, may be directed towards a single victim.
Remand prisoners (remandees)
Remand prisoners are those persons who have been placed in custody while awaiting the outcome of their court hearing. They may be unconvicted (remanded in custody for trial), convicted but awaiting sentence (remanded in custody for sentence) or awaiting deportation. Some sentenced prisoners also have active remand warrants against them. In such cases, these prisoners are counted as sentenced.
Road traffic and motor vehicle regulatory offences
Offences relating to vehicles and most forms of road traffic, including offences pertaining to the licensing, registration, roadworthiness or use of vehicles, bicycle offences and pedestrian offences.
Robbery, extortion and related offences
Acts intended to unlawfully gain money, property or other thing of value from, or to cause detriment to, another person by using the threat of force or any other coercive measure.
Sentenced prisoners
Sentenced prisoners are those persons who have received a term of imprisonment from a court. This includes offenders who have been given an indeterminate sentence or custodial order, for example, persons detained under the 'Governor's/Queen's Pleasure' and 'Forensic Patients', or those who have received a life sentence. Also included are persons sentenced to part-time imprisonment, that is, periodic detainees in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
Sexual assault and related offences
Acts of a sexual nature against another person which are non-consensual or consent is proscribed.
Theft and related offences
The unlawful taking or obtaining of money or goods not involving the use of force, threat of force or violence, coercion or deception, with the intent to permanently or temporarily deprive the owner or possessor of the use of the money or goods, or the receiving or handling of money or goods obtained unlawfully.
Time on remand
For unsentenced prisoners, time on remand is calculated as the period between the date of reception and the prisoner census date. It represents only that period of time spent on remand up to 30 June of the reference year.
Type of sentence
The classification of sentence types used in this report is as follows:
Indeterminate - life. Persons sentenced to life imprisonment. This does not necessarily mean, however, that the person will be held in custody for the term of their natural life. In some states or territories a minimum time to serve in custody is specified by the court, while in others this decision is made by an administrative body such as a Parole Board.
Indeterminate - other. Persons declared as habitual criminals, persons who are either permanently or temporarily deemed not responsible for their actions because of a mental disorder or intellectual disability and prisoners who are sentenced to imprisonment but have not had a release date set. That is, the prisoner may be released at any time, at the discretion of the administrative body within each jurisdiction responsible for making that decision.
Life with minimum. Persons sentenced to life imprisonment, where a minimum time to serve in custody has been specified by the court.
Maximum-minimum (or max-min). Sentences where a person may be eligible to be released on parole after serving a minimum term in custody, and who must be released once a maximum term has been served.
Fixed term. Sentences where there is no minimum term or non-parole period set. The prisoner is required to serve the whole sentence, less any remission allowed, in custody and when released from custody is not subject to any further correctional intervention.
The situation in Tasmania differs in that while no minimum term or non-parole period is set by the court, it is understood that the prisoner will usually be released on parole at a time determined by the Parole Board.
Periodic detention. A sentencing option which at the time of the 30 June 2004 National Prisoner Census was available only to New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory courts. Persons given periodic detention are in custody for two consecutive days in a week (periodic detainee week), and remain at liberty during the rest of the week.
Fine default only. Persons who are serving a sentence for non-payment of a fine and are subject to no other sentence type at the time. Offenders who are serving fine default sentences while on remand are counted as sentenced (fine default) prisoners. Offenders who are serving fine default sentences concurrently with other sentences of imprisonment are counted under the other sentence type and not as fine default only prisoners.
Unlawful entry with intent/burglary, break and enter
The unlawful entry of a structure with the intent to commit an offence where the entry is either forced or unforced.
Unsentenced prisoners
A legal status indicating that a person is confined to custody on remand while awaiting the outcome of their trial. They may be unconvicted (remanded in custody for trial), convicted but awaiting sentence (remanded in custody for sentence) or awaiting deportation.
Weapons and explosives offences
Offences involving weapons and explosives.
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