4517.0 - Prisoners in Australia, 2013 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 13/06/2014   
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PRISONERS IN AUSTRALIA, 2013 - NORTHERN TERRITORY


TOTAL PRISONER NUMBERS

  • In 2013, the overall prison population increased 2 per cent (25 prisoners) to 1,436 from 2012.
  • The (crude) imprisonment rate decreased from 825 per 100,000 to 821 per 100,000 in 2013.

SEX
  • In 2013, the male population decreased 0.2 per cent (2 persons).
  • In 2013, the female population increased 34 per cent (27 persons).

AGE
  • In 2013, the median age of prisoners in the Northern Territory was 32.6 years.

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PRISONERS
  • In 2013, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners made up 86 per cent of the prison population.

MOST SERIOUS OFFENCE
  • In 2013, the five most common offences for Northern Territory were:
    • Acts intended to cause injury (50 per cent; 717 persons)
    • Sexual assault and related offences (12 per cent: 169 persons)
    • Homicide and related offences (8 per cent; 114 persons)
    • Offences against justice procedures, government security and government operations (7 per cent; 98 persons)
    • Traffic and vehicle regulatory offences (5 per cent; 74 persons).

AGE-STANDARDISED RATES
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander adults was 2,348 per 100,000 of the relevant population.
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for non-indigenous adults was 144 per 100,000 of the relevant population.
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander adults was 16.3 times that of non-indigenous adults.

TYPICAL SENTENCE LENGTH
  • The median aggregate sentence length for sentenced prisoners was 1.3 years.

PRISONERS ON REMAND
  • In 2013, unsentenced prisoners comprised 25 per cent of prisoners.
  • Median time spent on remand was 1.2 months.

PRIOR IMPRISONMENT
  • In 2013, 71 per cent of prisoners had known prior adult imprisonment.

COUNTRY OF BIRTH
  • In 2013, 97 per cent of prisoners were born in Australia.

OTHER KEY POINTS
  • In 2013, Northern Territory recorded the highest imprisonment rate at 821 prisoners per 100,000 adult population.
  • Northern Territory had the highest proportion of prisoners with a most serious offence/charge of acts intended to cause injury at 50 per cent, more than double the national figure of 20 per cent.


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.