4517.0 - Prisoners in Australia, 2018 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 06/12/2018   
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AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

Snapshot at 30 June 2018

Graph Image for PRISONERS, Australian Capital Territory, 30 June 2008 to 30 June 2018

Source(s): Prisoners in Australia


  • The number of adult prisoners in Australian Capital Territory prisons was 492, an increase of 10% (43 prisoners) from 2017. (Table 15)
  • The adult imprisonment rate was 151 prisoners per 100,000 adult population, an increase from 141 prisoners per 100,000 adult population in 2017. (Table 19)
  • Three-quarters of prisoners (75% or 369 prisoners) had previously been imprisoned. This was the largest proportion of any state or territory (the national average was 57%). (Table 14)
  • The most common offences/charges were:
    • Acts intended to cause injury (27% or 134 prisoners);
    • Offences against justice (13% or 66 prisoners);
    • Sexual assault and related offences (11% or 54 prisoners). (Table 16)

Sex
  • Males comprised 93% (457 prisoners) of the total prisoner population. (Table 14)
  • Since 30 June 2017, the male imprisonment rate increased from 261 to 287 prisoners per 100,000 male adult population, while the female imprisonment rate decreased from 26 to 22 prisoners per 100,000 female adult population. (Table 15)

Age
  • The median age of adult prisoners was 33 years of age. (Table 14)

Country of Birth
  • Overseas-born prisoners accounted for 14% of the Australian Capital Territory adult prisoner population. (Table 22)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Prisoners
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders comprised 22% (110 prisoners) of the adult prisoner population. (Table 14)


Legal Status
  • Unsentenced prisoners comprised 38% (186 prisoners) of the adult prisoner population. This was the highest proportion of unsentenced prisoners across all states and territories. (Table 14)
  • The median time spent on remand by unsentenced prisoners was 2.7 months. (Table 32)
  • The median aggregate sentence length for sentenced prisoners was 2.6 years. (Table 26)