SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

PERSONS IN CORRECTIVE SERVICES

Number of prisoners

In the June quarter 2015, the average daily number of full-time prisoners in Australia was 35,949. This was an increase of:

• 482 prisoners (1%) from the March quarter 2015, and
• 1,915 prisoners (6%) from the June quarter 2014. (Table 1)

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).

The average daily number of persons serving community-based corrections orders in the June quarter 2015 was 58,067, based on first day of the month averages. This was an increase of:

• 2,072 persons (4%) from the March quarter 2015, and
• 1,957 persons (4%) from the June quarter 2014.

The increase between the March and June 2015 quarters was the largest recorded in community-based corrections orders in the past two years. (Tables 1 and 17)



PERSONS IN CUSTODY

Rates per 100,000 adult population

Nationally, the average daily imprisonment rate was 196 prisoners per 100,000 adult population in the June quarter 2015. The Northern Territory had the highest average daily imprisonment rate (904 prisoners per 100,000 adult population), followed by Western Australia (277 prisoners per 100,000 adult population).

The Australian Capital Territory had the lowest average daily imprisonment rate (118 prisoners per 100,000 adult population).

Between the 2014 and 2015 June quarters, Northern Territory recorded the largest increase in the average daily imprisonment rate, from 850 to 904 prisoners per 100,000 adult population. All states and territories recorded increases in their imprisonment rate between the 2014 and 2015 June quarters. (Table 3)



Sex

The average daily number of full-time prisoners in Australia in the June quarter 2015 was 33,124 males and 2,825 females. This represents an increase in the average daily number of males in custody of 6% (1,734 prisoners) and females of 7% (181 prisoners) from the June quarter 2014.

In the June quarter 2015, the average daily imprisonment rate for males was 366 prisoners per 100,000 adult male population, which was approximately 12 times the rate for females (30 female prisoners per 100,000 adult female population). (Tables 4 and 5)

Type of full-time custody

Secure custody refers to prisoners housed in medium or maximum security custodial facilities requiring them to be confined by a secure physical barrier. In the June quarter 2015, the average daily number of prisoners in secure prison custody was 28,329 (79% of prisoners in full-time custody), an increase of 7% (1,754 prisoners) from the June quarter 2014. The jurisdictions with the highest proportion of prisoners in secure prison custody were Tasmania (98% or 495 prisoners) and the Australian Capital Territory (96% or 342 prisoners).

Open custody refers to prisoners housed in minimum security custodial facilities that do not require them to be confined by a secure parameter physical barrier, irrespective of whether a physical barrier exists. There were 7,620 prisoners (21% of prisoners in full-time custody) in open custody in the June quarter 2015, an increase of 2% (161 prisoners) from the June quarter 2014. (Table 6)

Legal status

Legal status refers to where a person may be either sentenced or unsentenced depending on the warrant(s) or court order(s) that provide the legal basis for the administration of the person through the criminal justice system.

Post-sentence prisoner data have been included in sentenced prisoner totals since the June quarter 2013 reference period. From the June quarter 2015, post-sentence prisoner data were published as a separate category, and continue to be included in sentenced prisoner totals. For more information, please refer to paragraph 36 of the Explanatory Notes.

During the June quarter 2015, the average number of prisoners in full-time custody on the first day of the month was 35,917, comprising of 26,100 (73%) sentenced and 9,743 (27%) unsentenced prisoners.

Unsentenced prisoners increased by 11% (999 prisoners) from the June quarter 2014, and increased by 3% (234 prisoners) from the March quarter 2015. (Table 8)



Sentenced prisoner receptions

Sentenced prisoner receptions refers to entry into corrective services custody from the community, having received a sentence of imprisonment as an outcome of a court proceeding; or persons who are sentenced to custody while in custody on remand (i.e. changed legal status from an unsentenced to a sentenced prisoner); or persons entering custody as a result of defaulting on the payment of a fine. Sentenced prisoners in custody who receive a further sentence of imprisonment are not counted as sentenced receptions.

In the June quarter 2015, there were 9,323 sentenced prisoner receptions into full-time prison custody in Australia. This equates to an increase of 2% (220 prisoners) from the June quarter 2014, and 5% (476 prisoners) from the March quarter 2015. (Table 10)

Federal prisoners

Federal prisoners are persons charged and sentenced under a Commonwealth statute or transferred from another country to serve their sentence in Australia.

Based on first day of the month figures during the June quarter 2015, the average daily number of federal sentenced prisoners in Australia was 881. This was an increase of 7% (59 prisoners) from the June quarter 2014, and 3% (23 prisoners) from the March quarter 2015.

Nearly half (49% or 429 prisoners) of all federal prisoners were in New South Wales. (Table 12)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners

In the June quarter 2015, the average daily number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adult prisoners was 9,940, comprising 8,938 (90%) males and 1,002 (10%) females.

Between the 2014 and 2015 June quarters, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males in custody increased by 5% (453 prisoners) and females by 9% (81 prisoners).

There was a higher proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners compared to non-Indigenous prisoners in the June quarter 2015. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners represented 28% of the total full-time adult prisoner population, and accounted for approximately 2% of the total Australian population aged 18 years and over (based on Australian Demographic Statistics (cat. no. 3101.0) and Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2001 to 2026 (cat. no. 3238.0)).

Three states accounted for nearly three-quarters of the total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoner population: New South Wales (2,845 prisoners or 29%), Queensland (2,314 prisoners or 23%) and Western Australia (2,130 prisoners or 21%). (Table 13)

In the June quarter 2015, the national average daily Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate was 2,265 prisoners per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. This was an increase from both the June quarter 2014 and March quarter 2015, of 57 and 23 prisoners per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, respectively. (Table 14)



Between the 2014 and 2015 June quarters, the imprisonment rate for both male and female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners increased: males increased by 2% to 4,127 prisoners per 100,000 adult male Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, and females increased by 6% to 451 prisoners per 100,000 adult female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.

Based on daily averages, the highest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate (as per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population) for the June quarter 2015 was recorded in Western Australia (3,646), followed by the Northern Territory (2,961) and South Australia (2,517). (Table 14)



Between the 2014 and 2015 June quarters, the largest increases in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate were in the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales, (increasing by 334 and 135 prisoners per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, respectively). (Table 14)

In the June quarter 2015, of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoner population (9,958 prisoners), 73% (7,266 prisoners) were sentenced and 27% (2,657 prisoners) were unsentenced, based on first day of the month figures.

Unsentenced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners increased by 6% (144 prisoners) from the June quarter 2014. (Table 15)

PERSONS IN COMMUNITY-BASED CORRECTIONS

All reported daily averages for number of persons serving community-based corrections orders are based on first day of the month figures. For more information, please refer to the Explanatory Notes, paragraphs 2 and 12.

Rates per 100,000 adult population

In the June quarter 2015, the national rate of persons in community-based corrections was 316 persons per 100,000 adult population, based on first day of the month figures. This was an increase of 2% (6 persons per 100,000 adult population) from the June quarter 2014, and 3% (11 persons per 100,000 adult population) from the March quarter 2015. (Table 18)




Sex

Based on first day of the month figures, the average daily number of persons serving community-based corrections orders was 58,067 in the June quarter 2015. Of these, 47,299 or 81% were male (a rate of 522 per 100,000 adult male population) and 10,735 or 18% were female (a rate of 115 females per 100,000 adult female population). (Tables 17 and 18)

Type of orders

Based on first day of the month figures, the average daily number of persons serving community service orders in the June quarter 2015 was 9,349, an increase of 365 persons (4%) from the June quarter 2014. The largest increase was recorded in Victoria (435 persons or 53%), followed by Queensland (157 persons or 8%).

The average daily number of persons serving restricted movement orders in the June quarter 2015 was 813, an increase of 322 persons (66%) from the June quarter 2014. The largest increase over this period was recorded in South Australia (295 persons or 79%).

In the June quarter 2015, the average daily number of persons on parole was 12,585, an increase of 236 persons (2%) from the June quarter 2014. The largest increase in parole orders over this period was recorded in Queensland (310 persons or 6%). (Table 19)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons in community-based corrections

Based on first day of the month figures, the average daily number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons in community-based corrections for the June quarter 2015 was 11,326, an increase of 176 persons (2%) from the March quarter 2015 and a decrease of 31 persons (0.3%) from the June quarter 2014.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders represented nearly 20% of the total number of persons in community-based corrections in the June quarter 2015.

Just over three-quarters of the total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-based corrections population were located in three states: Queensland (3,790 persons), New South Wales (3,409 persons) and Western Australia (1,368 persons). (Table 20)