SUMMARY OF FINDINGS


PERSONS IN CORRECTIVE SERVICES

Based on first day of the month averages, for the December quarter 2010, there were 84,551 persons under the authority of corrective services (excluding those in periodic detention). The total comprised 28,656 persons in full-time custody and 55,895 persons in community-based corrections. This represents a decrease of 2% (1,614 persons) from the December quarter 2009. Over the same period, persons in full-time custody decreased by 1% (214 perons) and persons in community-based corrections decreased by 3% (1,400 persons).


Number of prisoners

During the December quarter 2010, the average daily number of full-time prisoners in Australia was 28,553 persons. This was an decrease of 1% from both the September quarter 2010 and the December quarter 2009.

Number of persons in community-based corrections

Community-based corrections orders are non-custodial orders served under the authority of adult corrective services agencies and include restricted movement, reparations (fine options and community service) and supervision orders (parole, bail, and sentenced probation). In the December quarter 2010, there were 55,895 persons in community-based corrections in Australia based on first day of the month averages, a decrease of 1% (651 persons) from the September quarter 2010.

PERSONS IN CUSTODY

Rates per 100,000 adults

Nationally, the December quarter 2010 average daily imprisonment rate was 165 prisoners per 100,000 adult population, a decrease of 3% from the December quarter 2009. The Northern Territory had the highest imprisonment rate (679 prisoners per 100,000 adult population), followed by Western Australia (260) and New South Wales (180).

The Australian Capital Territory and Victoria had the lowest imprisonment rates (80 and 106 prisoners per 100,000 adult population respectively).

The Australian Capital Territory recorded the largest proportional increase in imprisonment rates from the December quarter 2009 (22%). The largest proportional decrease over the same period was recorded in Western Australia (7%).

Sex

Of the average daily number of full-time prisoners in Australia in the December quarter 2010, 26,500 (93%) were male and 2,053 (7%) were female. The average daily imprisonment rate for males was 311 prisoners per 100,000 adult male population; 13 times more than the rate for females (23 female prisoners per 100,000 adult female population).


Type of full-time custody

The average daily number of prisoners in secure prison custody in the December quarter 2010 was 22,292 (78% of prisoners in full-time custody). Open prison custody comprised 6,261 prisoners (22%).

All prisoners in the Australian Capital Territory are in secure prison custody. Queensland had the next highest proportions of prisoners in secure custody (91%), followed by South Australia and Tasmania (both 90%); and Victoria (89%).


Legal status

The average number of prisoners in full-time custody on the first day of each month in the December quarter 2010 was 28,656, comprising an average of 22,299 (78%) sentenced and 6,357 (22%) unsentenced prisoners. Sentenced prisoners decreased by 1% from both the previous quarter and from the December quarter 2009.

Unsentenced prisoners decreased by 1% from both the previous quarter and from the December quarter 2009. The Australian Capital Territory and South Australia had the highest proportions of unsentenced prisoners (37% and 34% respectively). The lowest proportions of unsentenced prisoners were recorded in Victoria and Western Australia (18% and 16% respectively).

Sentenced prisoner receptions

There were 7,429 sentenced prisoner receptions into full-time custody in Australia in the December quarter 2010; a decrease of 5% (391) from the September quarter 2010 and a decrease of 1% (53) from the December quarter 2009.


Periodic detention

Periodic detention is a form of custody or order where a sentenced prisoner is required to be held in custody on a part-time basis. This type of custody order is currently only used in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. This program has ceased in New South Wales from October 2010.

During the December quarter 2010 there was an average daily number of 475 persons in New South Wales and 54 persons in the Australian Capital Territory held in periodic detention. The rate of imprisonment for periodic detainees decreased by 29% in New South Wales from the September quarter 2010, and remained unchanged in the Australian Capital Territory.


Federal prisoners

In the December quarter 2010, there were 844 federal sentenced prisoners in Australia based on first day of the month figures, an increase of 11% from the December quarter 2009. Just under half (418) of the federal prisoners were sentenced in New South Wales.


Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners

The average daily number of full-time Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adult prisoners in Australia in the December quarter 2010 was 7,413, comprising 6,795 (92%) males and 618 (8%) females. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners represented 26% of the total full-time prisoner population in the December quarter 2010, the same proportion as for the September quarter 2010. The total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population aged 18 years and over at 31 December 2010 was 2% of the Australian population.

Approximately 76% of the total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoner population was located in the states of New South Wales (2,200), Western Australia (1,749) and Queensland (1,649).

The national average daily Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate in the December quarter 2010 was 2,250 per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, a decrease of 1% from the previous quarter and by 4% from the December quarter 2009.

Different age profiles of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous population can affect the imprisonment rate numbers. The quarterly collection is unable to take age into account; however, data from the Prisoner Census collection can provide this level of detail.

The national age standardised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate from the annual Prisoner Census conducted at June 2010 was 14 times higher (1,892 per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population) than the rate for non-Indigenous persons (134 per 100,000 adult non-Indigenous population). Further information on the comparison of imprisonment rates between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous populations can be found in Prisoners in Australia, 2009 (cat.no.4517.0).

The highest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate was recorded in Western Australia (3,870 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population), followed by South Australia (2,665) and New South Wales (2,326). The lowest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate was recorded in Tasmania (602), followed by Victoria (1,333).

The largest proportional increase in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate from the December quarter 2009 was recorded in the Australian Capital Territory (52%), followed by Tasmania (9%). New South Wales (6%) and Western Australia (13%) recorded the only proportional decreases over the same period.


PERSONS IN COMMUNITY-BASED CORRECTIONS

Rates per 100,000 adults

Nationally, the rate of persons in community-based corrections was 323 persons per 100,000 adult population for the December quarter 2010 based on first day of the month figures. This was a decrease of 5% from the December quarter 2009 (340 persons per 100,000 adults). The largest decrease from the December quarter 2009 was recorded in Western Australia (16%), while the largest increase was recorded in Tasmania (21%).

Sex

Of the average number of persons in community-based corrections in Australia in the December quarter 2010, 45,644 (82%) were male and 10,198 (18%) were female.

In the December quarter 2010, the rate of community-based corrections for males was 535 per 100,000 adult male population compared to 116 females per 100,000 adult female population. The community-based corrections rate for males was more than four times that of females.


Type of orders

In the December quarter 2010, there were 12,034 persons on parole following a period of imprisonment, an increase of 1% from the September quarter 2010. Three states accounted for over 80% of persons serving parole orders: New South Wales (4,330 or 36%), Queensland (4,329 persons or 36%), and Victoria (1,541 or 13%). The largest proportional decrease in parole orders from the September quarter 2010 was recorded in the Northern Territory (13%).

For this same period, there were 33,757 persons under sentenced probation and 9,854 persons serving community service orders; a decrease of 1% and 3% respectively from the September quarter 2010.