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 - AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY


TOTAL PRISONER NUMBERS

  • In 2013, the overall prison population increased 13 per cent (40 prisoners) to 353 from 2012.
  • The (crude) imprisonment rate increased from 107 per 100,000 to 118 per 100,000 in 2013.

SEX
  • In 2013, the male population increased 13 per cent (39 persons) from 2012.
  • In 2013, the female population increased 7 per cent (1 person) from 2012.

AGE
  • In 2013, the median age of prisoners in the Australian Capital Territory was 31.2 years.

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PRISONERS
  • In 2013, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners made up 18 per cent of the prison population.

MOST SERIOUS OFFENCE
  • In 2013, the five most common offences for Australian Capital Territory were:
    • Acts intended to cause injury (21 per cent; 73 persons)
    • Offences against justice procedures, government security and government operations (17 per cent; 61 persons)
    • Robbery, extortion and related offences (12 per cent; 41 persons)
    • Unlawful entry with intent (9 per cent; 31 persons)
    • Sexual assault and related offences (8 per cent: 29 persons).

AGE-STANDARDISED RATES
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander adults was 1,696 per 100,000 of the relevant population.
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for non-Indigenous adults was 92 per 100,000 of the relevant population.
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander adults was 18.4 times that of non-Indigenous adults.

TYPICAL SENTENCE LENGTH
  • The median aggregate sentence length for sentenced prisoners was 2.8 years.

PRISONERS ON REMAND
  • In 2013, unsentenced prisoners comprised 26 per cent of prisoners.
  • Median time spent on remand was 1.4 months.

PRIOR IMPRISONMENT
  • In 2013, 73 per cent of prisoners had known prior adult imprisonment.

COUNTRY OF BIRTH
  • In 2013, 80 per cent of prisoners were born in Australia, followed by New Zealand with 2 per cent.

OTHER KEY POINTS
  • At 30 June 2013, the Australian Capital Territory had the smallest prisoner population (353 persons or one per cent of the total Australian prisoner population)
  • At 30 June 2013, the Australian Capital Territory had the youngest prisoner population, with a median age of 31.2 years.


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.