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Western Australia

Snapshot

At 30 June 2015:

• The number of adult prisoners in Western Australian prisons was 5,555, an increase of 6% (314 prisoners) from 2014. (Table 14)


• The adult imprisonment rate was 278 prisoners per 100,000 adult population, an increase from 265 prisoners per 100,000 adult population in 2014. (Table 18)


• Three in five prisoners (60% or 3,307 prisoners) had previously been imprisoned under sentence. (Table 13)


• The most common offence/charge was acts intended to cause injury (19% or 1,039 prisoners), followed by unlawful entry with intent (16% or 912 prisoners) and illicit drug offences (13% or 703 prisoners). (Table 15)

• Males comprised 91% (5,030 prisoners) of the total prisoner population. (Table 13)


• From 30 June 2014, the male imprisonment rate increased from 478 to 500 prisoners per 100,000 male adult population. (Table 14)


• For the same period, the female imprisonment rate increased from 48 to 53 prisoners per 100,000 female adult population. This was the highest female imprisonment rate since 2005. (Table 14)

• The median age of adult prisoners was 34.1 years of age. (Table 13)

• Overseas born prisoners accounted for 16% (906 prisoners) of the Western Australian adult prisoner population, with the largest proportion from New Zealand (186 prisoners or 21% of overseas born prisoners) followed by United Kingdom (185 prisoners or 20% of overseas born prisoners). (Table 21)

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders comprised 38% (2,113 prisoners) of the adult prisoner population. (Table 13)


• The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander age standardised imprisonment rate was 17 times the non-Indigenous age standardised imprisonment rate (3,067 prisoners per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adult population compared to 181 prisoners per 100,000 adult non-Indigenous population). (Table 17)

• Unsentenced prisoners comprised 24% (1,312 prisoners) of the adult prisoner population. (Table 13)


• The median time spent on remand by unsentenced prisoners was 2.5 months. Time on remand as reported in the Prisoner Census is time spent on remand as at 30 June 2015, and not the total time on remand. Time on remand is influenced by a number of factors, particularly the time it takes for a case to come before a court. (Table 31)


• The median aggregate sentence length for sentenced prisoners was 2.5 years. (Table 25)