4517.0 - Prisoners in Australia, 2013 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 05/12/2013   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

PRISONERS IN AUSTRALIA, 2013 - SOUTH AUSTRALIA


TOTAL PRISONER NUMBERS

  • In 2013, the overall prison population increased 9 per cent (189 prisoners) to 2,266.
  • The (crude) imprisonment rate increased from 160 per 100,000 to 173 per 100,000 .

10 YEAR CHANGES (2003-2013)
  • Since 2003, the male population has increased by 58 per cent (767 prisoners).
  • Since 2003, the female population has increased by 43 per cent (44 prisoners).
  • Since 2003, the population of prisoners aged 50 & over has increased by 200 per cent (220 prisoners).

SEX
  • In 2013, the male population increased 9 per cent (175 persons).
  • In 2013, the female population increased 11 per cent (14 persons).

AGE
  • In 2013, the median age of prisoners in South Australia was 35.9 years.

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PRISONERS
  • In 2013, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners made up 22 per cent of the prison population.

MOST SERIOUS OFFENCE
  • In 2013, the five most common offences for South Australia were:
    • Acts intended to cause injury (15 per cent; 337 persons)
    • Offences against justice procedures, government security and government operations (15 per cent; 339 persons)
    • Sexual assault and related offences (14 per cent: 317 persons)
    • Homicide and related offences (11 per cent; 251 persons)
    • Unlawful entry with intent (11 per cent; 248 persons)

AGE-STANDARDISED RATES
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander adults was 2,226 per 100,000 of the relevant population.
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for non-indigenous adults was 152 per 100,000 of the relevant population.
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander adults was 14.7 times that of non-indigenous adults.

TYPICAL SENTENCE LENGTH
  • The median aggregate sentence length for sentenced prisoners was 4.5 years.

PRISONERS ON REMAND
  • In 2013, unsentenced prisoners comprised 34 per cent of prisoners.
  • Median time spent on remand was 2.3 months.

PRIOR IMPRISONMENT
  • In 2013, 51 per cent of prisoners had known prior adult imprisonment.

COUNTRY OF BIRTH
  • In 2013, 84 per cent of prisoners were born in Australia, followed by 3% born in the United Kingdom.

OTHER KEY POINTS
  • At 30 June 2013, South Australian prisoners had the greatest median age of 35.9 years.
  • In 2013, South Australia had the highest median aggregate sentence length of any jurisdiction (4.5 years or 54 months).


For further information, please consult the Prisoners in Australia, 2013 (cat. no 4517.0) publication, or contact NIRS on 1300 135 070. When reporting ABS statistics, please attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) as the source.