4517.0 - Prisoners in Australia, 2013 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 05/12/2013   
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PRISONERS IN AUSTRALIA, 2013 - VICTORIA


TOTAL PRISONER NUMBERS

  • In 2013, the overall prison population increased 9 per cent (456 prisoners) to 5,340 from 2012.
  • The (crude) imprisonment rate increased from 112 per 100,000 to 120 per 100,000 in 2013.

SEX
  • In 2013, the male population increased 9 per cent (420 persons) from 2012.
  • In 2013, the female population increased 11 per cent (36 persons) from 2012.

AGE
  • In 2013, the median age of prisoners in Victoria was 35.3 years.

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PRISONERS
  • In 2013, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners made up 7 per cent of the prison population.

MOST SERIOUS OFFENCE
  • In 2013, the five most common offences for Victoria were:
    • Offences against justice procedures, government security and operations (15 per cent; 806 persons)
    • Acts intended to cause injury (14 per cent; 764 persons)
    • Sexual assault and related offences (14 per cent; 734 persons)
    • Illicit drug offences (12 per cent; 659 persons)
    • Unlawful entry with intent (11 per cent; 566 persons).

AGE-STANDARDISED RATES
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander adults was 1,482 per 100,000 of the relevant population.
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for non-indigenous adults was 116 per 100,000 of the relevant population.
  • In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander adults was 12.8 times that of non-indigenous adults.

TYPICAL SENTENCE LENGTH
  • The median aggregate sentence length for sentenced prisoners was 3.3 years.

PRISONERS ON REMAND
  • In 2013, unsentenced prisoners comprised 18 per cent of prisoners.
  • Median time spent on remand was 2.7 months.

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

COUNTRY OF BIRTH
  • In 2013, 75 per cent of prisoners were born in Australia, followed by 5 per cent born in Vietnam.

OTHER KEY POINTS
  • In 2013, Victoria had the lowest proportion of unsentenced prisoners (18 per cent).
  • In 2013, Victoria was the only jurisdiction to have a most common most serious offence/charge of offences against justice (15 per cent; 806 persons).


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.