Corrective Services, Australia

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National and state information about adult prisoners and community based corrections, including legal status, custody type, Indigenous status, sex.

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Reference period
June Quarter 2022
Released
15/09/2022
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Key statistics

  • There were 40,627 persons in custody in June quarter 2022, up 1% (297) from last quarter but down 6% (2,446) from June quarter 2021.
  • Unsentenced prisoners up by 2% (230) since the March quarter 2022, to 15,114.
  • 77,715 persons were serving community-based corrections (CBC) orders, down 2% (1,213) from the March quarter 2022.

 

There have been various government restrictions in place across the states and territories due to COVID-19 since March 2020. The restrictions may have had an impact on criminal activity and the justice system.

Persons in custody

There were 40,627 (average daily number) prisoners:

  • up from 40,330 in the March quarter 2022
  • down from 43,073 in the June quarter 2021

Of the 40,627 prisoners, there were:

  • 12,453 in New South Wales, up 1% for the quarter
  • 9,284 in Queensland, up 1%
  • 6,648 in Victoria, stable
  • 6,240 in Western Australia, down 1%
  • 3,058 in South Australia, up 2%
  • 1,922 in the Northern Territory, up 2%
  • 639 in Tasmania, down 1%
  • 383 in the Australia Capital Territory, up 1%

(a) Based on average daily number

Imprisonment rates

The imprisonment rate was 202 persons per 100,000 adult population:

  • up from 201 persons in the March quarter 2022
  • down from 215 persons in the June quarter 2021

The imprisonment rate per 100,000 adult population was:

  • 1,025 persons for the Northern Territory, up 1% for the quarter
  • 293 for Western Australia, down 4%
  • 228 for Queensland, up 1%
  • 213 for South Australia, stable
  • 197 for New South Wales, up 2%
  • 141 for Tasmania, down 6%
  • 129 for Victoria, up 1%
  • 108 for the Australian Capital Territory, down 5%

(a) Rate is the number of prisoners per 100,000 adult population. Based on average daily number.

Sex

Of all prisoners:

  • 93% (37,619) were male
  • 7% (3,008) were female

Of all male prisoners:

  • 31% (11,615) were in New South Wales
  • 22% (8,437) were in Queensland
  • 17% (6,293) were in Victoria

Of all female prisoners:

  • 28% in both Queensland (847) and New South Wales (837)
  • 19% (570) were in Western Australia

The imprisonment rate for male prisoners was 381 persons per 100,000 adult male population, up from 380 persons last quarter.

The imprisonment rate for female prisoners was 29 persons per 100,000 adult female population, stable since last quarter.

Type of custody

Of all prisoners:

  • 84% (33,991) were in secure custody
  • 16% (6,636) were in open custody

Legal status

37% (15,114) of the 40,660 prisoners (first day of the month) were unsentenced:

  • up from 14,884 in the March quarter 2022
  • down from 15,219 in the June quarter 2021

Of all unsentenced prisoners:

  • 32% (4,788) were in New South Wales
  • 20% (3,093) were in Queensland
  • 19% (2,924) were in Victoria

63% (25,436) of the 40,660 prisoners (first day of the month) were sentenced:

  • up from 25,331 in the March quarter 2022
  • down from 27,793 in the June quarter 2021

Of all sentenced prisoners:

  • 30% (7,672) were in New South Wales
  • 24% (6,087) were in Queensland
  • 17% (4,350) were in Western Australia

(a) Based on average number on the first day of the month

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners

There were 12,820 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners:

  • up from 12,566 in the March quarter 2022
  • down from 13,062 in the June quarter 2021

Of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners:

  • 28% (3,541) were in New South Wales, 27% (3,402) were in Queensland, and 20% (2,505) were in Western Australia
  • 91% (11,630) were male
  • 61% (7,763) were sentenced

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rates

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate was 2,315 persons per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population:

  • up from 2,269 in the March quarter 2022
  • down from 2,406 in the June quarter 2021

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population was:

  • 3,547 for Western Australia, down 1% for the quarter
  • 3,124 for the Northern Territory, up 3%
  • 2,617 for South Australia, up 6%
  • 2,231 for Queensland, up 3%
  • 1,955 for New South Wales, up 4%
  • 1,744 for the Australia Capital Territory, up 2%
  • 1,651 for Victoria, down 6%
  • 771 for Tasmania, down 3%

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate for male prisoners was 4,261 persons per 100,000 adult male Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, up from 4,180 persons last quarter.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate for female prisoners was 423 persons per 100,000 adult female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, up from 411 persons last quarter.

a) Rate is the number of prisoners per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. Based on average daily number.

Federal sentenced prisoners

There were 1,101 federal sentenced prisoners:

  • up from 1,099 in the March quarter 2022
  • down from 1,151 in the June quarter 2021

76% (836) of all federal sentenced prisoners were held in New South Wales and Victoria.

Prisoner receptions

The total number of prisoner receptions was 15,381:

  • up from 14,829 in the March quarter 2022
  • down from 16,139 in the June quarter 2021

Of all prisoner receptions:

  • 29% (4,523) were in New South Wales, 23% (3,519) were in Queensland, and 17% (2,616) were in Victoria
  • 87% (13,433) were male
  • 78% (11,935) were unsentenced

(a) Total number of prisoner receptions.

Prisoner releases

The total number of prisoner releases was 15,400:

  • up from 14,498 in the March quarter 2022
  • down from 16,196 in the June quarter 2021

Of all prisoner releases:

  • 30% (4,551) were in New South Wales, 22% (3,360) were in Queensland, and 18% (2,723) were in Victoria
  • 87% (13,413) were male
  • 55% (8,429) were sentenced

(a) Total number of prisoner releases.

Community-based corrections

Persons in community-based corrections

There were 77,715 persons serving CBC orders down from:

  • 78,928 in the March quarter 2022
  • 78,785 in the June quarter 2021

Of all persons serving CBC orders, there were:

  • 33,625 in New South Wales, down 2% for the quarter
  • 19,581 in Queensland, down 2%
  • 9,650 in Victoria, up 3%
  • 5,609 in Western Australia, down 2%
  • 5,126 in South Australia, down 2%
  • 2,085 in Tasmania, down 2%
  • 1,163 in the Northern Territory, down 4%
  • 875 in the Australian Capital Territory, down 7%

a) Based on average number on the first day of the month

Rates for persons in community-based corrections

The rate of persons serving CBC orders was 387 persons per 100,000 adult population down from:

  • 393 persons in the March quarter 2022
  • 393 persons in the June quarter 2021

The rate of persons serving CBC orders per 100,000 adult population was:

  • 620 persons for the Northern Territory, down 6% for the quarter
  • 532 for New South Wales, down 1%
  • 481 for Queensland, down 3%
  • 458 for Tasmania, down 8%
  • 358 for South Australia, down 4%
  • 263 for Western Australia, down 5%
  • 246 for the Australian Capital Territory, down 13%
  • 188 for Victoria, up 4%

a) Rate per 100,000 persons for the state/territory of interest.

Sex

Of all persons serving CBC orders:

  • 81% (62,811) were male
  • 19% (14,874) were female

The rate for male persons serving CBC orders was 636 persons per 100,000 adult male population, down from 648 persons last quarter.

The rate for female persons serving CBC orders was 145 persons per 100,000 adult female population, down from 148 persons last quarter.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons serving community-based corrections orders

There were 18,153 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons serving CBC orders:

  • down from 18,506 in the March quarter 2022
  • up from 17,844 in the June quarter 2021

Of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons serving CBC orders:

  • 43% (7,727) were in New South Wales
  • 30% (5,434) were in Queensland
  • 9% (1,683) were in Western Australia

(a) Based on average number on the first day of the month.

Type of community-based corrections orders

There were 53,314 Sentenced probation orders down from:

  • 54,219 in the March quarter 2022
  • 54,862 in the June quarter 2021

a) Based on average number on the first day of the month

There were 17,806 Parole orders:

  • down from 18,267 in the March quarter 2022
  • up from 17,615 in the June quarter 2021

a) Based on average number on the first day of the month

There were 12,269 Community service orders, down from:

  • 12,519 in the March quarter 2022
  • 13,054 in the June quarter 2021

a) Based on average number on the first day of the month

For information about corrective services data, please refer to the Methodology.

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Data files

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 4512.0.

Methodology

Corrective Services, Australia methodology, June Quarter 2022