• Summary
• Downloads
• Explanatory Notes
• Related Information
• Past Releases

PRISONERS IN AUSTRALIA, 2013 - WESTERN AUSTRALIA


TOTAL PRISONER NUMBERS

• In 2013, the overall prison population decreased 1 per cent (40 prisoners) to 4,924 from 2012.
• The (crude) imprisonment rate decreased from 267 per 100,000 to 256 per 100,000 in 2013.

• In 2013, the male population decreased 1 per cent (43 persons) from 2012.
• In 2013, the female population increased 1 per cent (3 persons) from 2012.

• In 2013, the median age of prisoners in Western Australia was 33.3 years.

• In 2013, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners made up 40 per cent of the prison population.

• In 2013, the five most common offences for Western Australia were:
  • Acts intended to cause injury (21 per cent; 1,019 persons)
  • Unlawful entry with intent (17 per cent; 856 persons)
  • Robbery, extortion and related offences (12 per cent; 569 persons)
  • Illicit drug offences (11 per cent; 521 persons)
  • Sexual assault and related offences (10 per cent: 502 persons).

• In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander adults was 3,315 per 100,000 of the relevant population.
• In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for non-indigenous adults was 159 per 100,000 of the relevant population.
• In 2013, the age-standardised imprisonment rate for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander adults was 21 times that of non-Indigenous adults.

• The median aggregate sentence length for sentenced prisoners was 2.5 years.

• In 2013, unsentenced prisoners comprised 20 per cent of prisoners.
• Median time spent on remand was 2.4 months.

• In 2013, 62 per cent of prisoners had known prior adult imprisonment.

• In 2013, 85 per cent of prisoners were born in Australia, followed by 3 per cent born in the United Kingdom.

• In 2013, Western Australia and Tasmania are the only jurisdictions to show an overall fall in the number of prisoners.
• In 2013, Western Australia had the highest age-standardised imprisonment rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners at 3,314.5 prisoners per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.
• In 2013, Western Australia had the highest ratio of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander to non-Indigenous age-standardised imprisonment rates in Australia (21 times higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners).