NCJ Number
179205
Date Published
1999
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper examines changes in Australia's rates of imprisonment over the past 17 years (1982-1998).
Abstract
The National Prison Census, later known as National Prisoner Census, provides a profile of the prison population on June 30 of each year. During the 17 years examined, the number of prisoners has increased from 9,826 in 1982 to 19,906 in 1998, an increase of 102 percent. The number of persons of imprisonable age per 100,000 population has increased more slowly, by 55 percent. Queensland has the highest rate of imprisonment in the country (23 percent above the national average); Victoria has the lowest (43 percent below the national average). If Queensland, with a smaller population than Victoria, had the same number of prisoners as Victoria, it would save approximately $80 million per year. If it had the same rate of imprisonment as Victoria, it would save approximately $110 million per year. Crude analyses suggest that, besides demographic differences among the jurisdictions, other factors affect the imprisonment rates. These include policies that favor imprisonment for offenses that could otherwise be sanctioned with less severe forms of punishment; policies that impose tougher sanctions on convicted criminals; prisoners spending longer portions of their sentences in prison due to the reduced use of parole and other early-release mechanisms; an augmented flow of individuals being processed by police due to legislative changes that create new offenses or increase the seriousness of existing offenses; and variations in crime rates. 1 table, 2 figures, and 11 references