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PRISONERS
The annual National Prisoner Census, conducted on the night of 30 June, counts all people who are in the legal custody of adult corrective services, including periodic detainees in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. At any given point in time, most prisoners are serving long sentences for relatively serious offences, but the flow of offenders in and out of prisons consists primarily of people serving short sentences for less serious offences.
At 30 June 2005, there were 25,353 prisoners (sentenced and unsentenced) in Australian prisons. This represented an imprisonment rate of 163 prisoners per 100,000 adult population. The median age of imprisonment for both men and women prisoners was 33 years.
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, 93% (23,619) were men and 7% (1,734) were women.
Acts intended to cause injury was the offence which accounted for the highest most serious offence/charge (17% or 4,334 prisoners) (table 11.37).
11.37 PRISONERS, Selected characteristics by most serious offence/charge - 30 June 2005
|
 | | Units | Homicide
and
related
offences | Acts
intended
to cause
injury | Sexual
assault
and related
offences | Robbery,
extortion
and related
offences | Unlawful
entry
with
intent | Illicit
drug
offences | Other
offences(a) | Total |
|
| All prisoners | no. | 2,565 | 4,334 | 2,716 | 2,679 | 3,270 | 2,480 | 7,309 | 25,353 |
| Males | no. | 2,375 | 4,076 | 2,696 | 2,553 | 3,084 | 2,252 | 6,583 | 23,619 |
| Females | no. | 190 | 258 | 20 | 126 | 186 | 228 | 726 | 1,734 |
| Indigenous | no. | 371 | 1,809 | 551 | 518 | 810 | 72 | 1,525 | 5,656 |
| Non-Indigenous | no. | 2,108 | 2,449 | 2,111 | 2,122 | 2,429 | 2,325 | 5,647 | 19,191 |
| Unknown | no. | 86 | 76 | 54 | 39 | 31 | 83 | 137 | 506 |
| Median age | | | | | | | | | |
| Males | years | 37 | 31 | 42 | 28 | 29 | 37 | 32 | 33 |
| Females | years | 37 | 31 | 43 | 28 | 30 | 37 | 34 | 33 |
| Indigenous | years | 35 | 30 | 35 | 26 | 27 | 35 | 31 | 30 |
| Non-Indigenous | years | 38 | 31 | 44 | 29 | 30 | 37 | 33 | 34 |
| Sentenced | no. | 2,037 | 3,006 | 2,361 | 2,175 | 2,543 | 2,020 | 6,078 | 20,220 |
| Unsentenced | no. | 528 | 1,328 | 355 | 504 | 727 | 460 | 1,231 | 5,133 |
| Prior imprisonment(b) | no. | 1,081 | 2,976 | 1,117 | 1,725 | 2,550 | 958 | 4,901 | 15,308 |
| No prior imprisonment(b) | no. | 1,462 | 1,334 | 1,520 | 947 | 714 | 1,489 | 2,346 | 9,812 |
| Unknown(b) | no. | 22 | 24 | 79 | 7 | 6 | 33 | 62 | 233 |
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(a) Includes Australian Standard Offence Classification (ASOC) Divisions 04, 05, 08, 09 and 11 to 16.
(b) Refers to prior adult imprisonment under sentence. |
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| Source: Prisoners in Australia, 2005 (4517.0). |
The majority of prisoners (16,653 or 71% of men and 1,224 or 71% of women) were aged 20-39 years (chart 11.38).
There were 5,656 Indigenous prisoners at 30 June 2005, comprising 22% of the total prisoner population. In the period 2001-05, the proportion of Indigenous prisoners has gradually increased relative to the non-Indigenous prisoner population. At 30 June 2001 the proportion of Indigenous prisoners was 19.8%. This increased to 22% of the prisoner population at 30 June 2005.
Unsentenced prisoners include prisoners awaiting a court hearing or trial and convicted prisoners awaiting sentencing. At 30 June 2001 the proportion of unsentenced prisoners was 19.3%. This increased to 20.2% of the prisoner population at 30 June 2005. However there was a slight decline from the proportion at 30 June 2004 (20.4%).
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