MOST SERIOUS OFFENCE
At 30 June 2004, almost half (47%) of all sentenced prisoners were convicted with a most serious offence involving violence or the threat of violence, including homicide and related offences (10%), sexual assault and related offences (11%), acts intended to cause injury (assault) (14%) and robbery/extortion (12%) (table 11.43). A further 13% of sentenced prisoners had a most serious offence of unlawful entry with intent, and 10% were serving sentences for a most serious offence involving illicit drugs.
11.43 SENTENCED PRISONERS, By most serious offence - 30 June 2004
|
 | NSW(a) | Vic. | Qld | SA | WA | Tas. | NT | ACT in
ACT | ACT in
NSW(a) | ACT
total | Aust.(b) |
|
| Homicide and related offences | 619 | 368 | 484 | 126 | 221 | 49 | 54 | - | 12 | 12 | 1,921 |
| Acts intended to cause injury | 1,152 | 217 | 614 | 61 | 322 | 69 | 190 | 15 | 11 | 26 | 2,640 |
| Sexual assault and related offences | 593 | 362 | 627 | 121 | 359 | 58 | 61 | n.p. | n.p. | 18 | 2,182 |
| Dangerous or negligent acts endangering persons | 53 | 29 | 97 | n.p. | 98 | 9 | 15 | n.p. | n.p. | 5 | 307 |
| Abduction and related offences | 64 | 28 | 8 | n.p. | 14 | - | 3 | n.p. | - | n.p. | 121 |
| Robbery, extortion and related offences | 930 | 357 | 527 | 113 | 397 | 28 | 14 | n.p. | n.p. | 19 | 2,367 |
| Unlawful entry with intent | 900 | 388 | 471 | 139 | 415 | 56 | 58 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 2,434 |
| Theft and related offences | 460 | 340 | 154 | 38 | 180 | 22 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 1,227 |
| Deception and related offences | 238 | 103 | 192 | 64 | 53 | 15 | 6 | n.p. | n.p. | 5 | 674 |
| Illicit drug offences | 877 | 350 | 370 | 76 | 211 | 12 | 20 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 1,925 |
| Weapons and explosive offences | 66 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | n.p. | n.p. | - | n.p. | 104 |
| Property damage and environmental pollution | 57 | 35 | 56 | 54 | 22 | 13 | n.p. | n.p. | n.p. | n.p. | 250 |
| Public order offences | 61 | 30 | 6 | n.p. | 24 | n.p. | - | - | n.p. | n.p. | 124 |
| Road traffic and motor vehicle regulatory offences | 558 | 105 | 132 | 21 | 144 | 13 | 86 | 14 | 3 | 17 | 1,073 |
| Offences against justice procedures, government security and government operations | 797 | 266 | 126 | 144 | 160 | 24 | 37 | 8 | 23 | 31 | 1,562 |
| Miscellaneous offences | 33 | 19 | 210 | n.p. | 43 | n.p. | 11 | 3 | - | 3 | 325 |
| Total | 7,458 | 3,010 | 4,079 | 970 | 2,668 | 379 | 587 | 85 | 118 | 203 | 19,236 |
|
(a) The majority of full-time prisoners sentenced in the ACT are held in NSW prisons. (b) The ACT in NSW figures are a subset of the NSW figures and are not separately counted in the Australian totals.
Source: Prisoners in Australia, 2004 (4517.0). |
There were differences in the types of most serious offence for which men and women were imprisoned. The highest proportion of most serious offences for males in prison at 30 June 2004 involved acts intended to cause injury (14%), unlawful entry with intent (13%), robbery/extortion (12%), and sexual assault (12%). Illicit drug offences (15%), deception offences (13%) and acts intended to cause injury (12%) were the most frequent most serious offences for females (graph 11.44).
SENTENCE LENGTH
Aggregate length of sentence is a measure of the sentences imposed on an offender, sometimes taking multiple offences into account. Average sentence length excludes prisoners who receive an indeterminate type of sentence such as 'life' as well as periodic detainee sentences. At 30 June 2004 the average aggregate sentence of all prisoners sentenced to a specific term was 4.9 years (graph 11.45). Nearly one in four sentenced prisoners (23%) had an aggregate sentence of 2-5 years, and prisoners with a sentence of 5-10 years comprised 22% of the prisoner population.
The time a prisoner is expected to serve in custody depends upon the sentence originally handed down, the system of remissions and the forms of parole available. Taking into account the earliest dates for release of sentenced prisoners, the average expected time to serve at 30 June 2004 was 3.5 years.
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