4517.0 - Prisoners in Australia, 2015  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 11/12/2015   
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KEY FINDINGS

Australian adult prisoner numbers continue to rise.
    • The number of prisoners in adult corrective services custody increased by 7% from 33,789 prisoners at 30 June, 2014 to 36,134 at 30 June, 2015.

    • The national imprisonment rate was 196 prisoners per 100,000 adult population, a 6% increase from 186 prisoners per 100,000 adult population in 2014.

Unsentenced prisoners increase by 21 per cent.
    • The number of unsentenced prisoners in adult corrective services custody increased by 21% from 8,213 prisoners at 30 June, 2014 to 9,898 at 30 June, 2015. Sentenced prisoners increased by 3% from 25,513 to 26,163 prisoners.

Graph Image for PRISONERS, legal status

Source(s): Prisoners in Australia


    • The increase was not accompanied by an increase in the time spent on remand awaiting trial and/or sentence. Median time on remand decreased by 10% from 3.0 to 2.7 months, with Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory the only state and territory to show increases.

Graph Image for UNSENTENCED PRISONERS, median time on remand(a), States and territories, 30 June 2014 and 2015

Footnote(s): (a) For information on time spent on remand see Explanatory Notes paragraph 53.

Source(s): Prisoners in Australia