4517.0 - Prisoners in Australia, 2015  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 11/12/2015   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

Queensland

Snapshot

At 30 June 2015:

    • The number of adult prisoners in Queensland prisons was 7,318, an increase of 4% (271 prisoners) from 2014. (Table 14)

    • The adult imprisonment rate was 198 prisoners per 100,000 adult population, an increase from 193 prisoners per 100,000 adult population in 2014. (Table 18)

    • Two-thirds (66% or 4,826 prisoners) of prisoners had previously been imprisoned under sentence. (Table 13)

    • The most common offence/charge was acts intended to cause injury (22% or 1,616 prisoners) followed by unlawful entry with intent (15% or 1,068 prisoners). (Table 15)

Sex

At 30 June 2015:

    • Males comprised 90% (6,611 prisoners) of the total prisoner population. (Table 13)

    • Since 30 June 2014, the male imprisonment rate increased from 354 to 362 prisoners per 100,000 male adult population and the female imprisonment rate increased from 36 to 38 prisoners per 100,000 female adult population. (Table 14)

Age

At 30 June 2015:

    • The median age of adult prisoners was 32.9 years of age. (Table 13)

    • Nationally, Queensland had the largest proportion of adult prisoners aged under 25 years (21% or 1,504 prisoners). (Table 20)

Country of Birth

At 30 June 2015:

    • Overseas born prisoners accounted for 12% (882 prisoners) of the Queensland adult prisoner population, with the largest proportion from New Zealand (321 prisoners or 36% of overseas born prisoners) followed by the United Kingdom (101 prisoners or 11% of overseas born prisoners). (Table 21)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Status

At 30 June 2015:

    • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders comprised 32% (2,306 prisoners) of the adult prisoner population. (Table 13)

    • The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander age standardised imprisonment rate was 11 times the non-Indigenous age standardised imprisonment rate (1,578 prisoners per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adult population compared to 149 prisoners per 100,000 adult non-Indigenous population). (Table 17)

Legal Status

At 30 June 2015:

    • Unsentenced prisoners comprised 25% (1,796 prisoners) of the adult prisoner population. (Table 13)

    • The median time spent on remand by unsentenced prisoners was 3.5 months, which was the longest of all states and territories. Time on remand as reported in the Prisoner Census is time spent on remand as at 30 June 2015, and not the total time on remand. Time on remand is influenced by a number of factors, particularly the time it takes for a case to come before a court. (Table 31)

    • The median aggregate sentence length for sentenced prisoners was 2.8 years. (Table 25)