MEDIA RELEASE
26 March 2015	Embargo: 11.30 am (Canberra Time)	42/2015

The number of persons remanded in full-time custody (unsentenced prisoners) has risen nationally by 13 per cent (995 persons) since December 2013, according to a release today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

"One quarter of the national prisoner population were unsentenced in the December quarter 2014", said William Milne from the ABS.

"Just over 27 per cent of persons remanded in full-time custody were of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin in the December quarter 2014.

"The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners remanded in custody has increased annually, rising by nearly eight per cent (164 persons) from the December quarter 2013." said Mr Milne.

The overall number of persons in custody increased nationally by eight per cent (2,407 persons) between the December quarter 2013 and the December quarter 2014.

The Corrective Services Australia quarterly publication contains national, and state and territory information on persons in adult custody and community-based corrections in Australia.

	Dec Qtr 14	Sep Qtr 14 to Dec Qtr 14	Dec Qtr 13 to Dec Qtr 14
		% change	% change
Unsentenced persons in full-time custody	8 677	3.7	13.0
Unsentenced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons in full-time custody	2 359	-0.1	7.5
Persons in full-time custody	34 647	1.9	7.5

Further information can be found in Corrective Services, Australia, December Quarter 2014 (cat. no 4512.0), available for free download from the ABS website - https://www.abs.gov.au


Media notes:

• When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
• Media requests and interviews - contact the ABS Communications Section on 1300 175 070.