Summary

3.1        There is publicly available prison data. Prison population statistics, taken from an annual census, are published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).[1] The annual census prison population data represents the ‘stock’ prison population, taken on a single day.  While census data is useful to gain an understanding of the national prison population, it is also limited by the nature of its collection. It cannot provide information on those who entered and exited prison in the six months prior or following census date, and tends to be biased towards those prisoners serving longer sentences.

3.2        The ALRC commissioned researchers at Curtin University (led by Associate Professor Anna Ferrante, Faculty of Health Sciences) to provide a deeper statistical overview of the incarceration rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Part of this process involved an interrogation of the ‘stock’ data and an analysis of ‘flow’ statistics—data showing the characteristics of people entering and exiting prison between census dates. This chapter presents data from that analytical research, the key findings of which indicate that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are:

  • over-represented in the national prison population: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults make up around 2% of the national population, and yet constitute 27% (10,596) of the national prison population (38,845).[2] In 2016, around 20 in every 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were incarcerated.[3] The rate of over-representation was most significant in WA.[4] Over-representation is both a persistent and growing problem—Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander incarceration rates increased 41% between 2006 and 2016,[5] and the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous imprisonment rates over the decade has widened.[6]

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women constituted 34% of the female prison population. The level of imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women exceeded that of non-Indigenous women by a factor of 21.2—that is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander woman was 21.2 times more likely to be imprisoned than a non-Indigenous women.

  • more likely to be charged and brought before the courts: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were seven times more likely than non-Indigenous people to be charged with a criminal offence and appear before the courts. While the most common offence type charged was ‘acts intended to cause injury’, ‘public order’ and ‘justice procedure’ offences also featured heavily in the offence categories for which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were charged.[8]

  • over-represented in the prison remand population: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples constituted 27% of all people denied bail by the courts and held in prison on remand.[9] The remand prison population has grown over time, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have continued to be over-represented in the remand population by a factor of over 11.[10]

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women were particularly over-represented in the remand population, with their remand rate exceeding that of non-Indigenous women and non-Indigenous men.

  • more likely to receive a sentence of imprisonment: The level of over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the criminal justice system increased from charge to imprisonment: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were seven times more likely to be charged with criminal offences, yet 12.5 times more likely to receive a sentence of imprisonment than non-Indigenous people.[12]

  • more likely to receive a short sentence of imprisonment: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders were more likely to receive a short sentence of imprisonment and less likely to receive a community-based sentence than non-Indigenous offenders.[13] ‘Stock’ data from the prison census showed that 10% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners were serving a sentence of less than six months, and half (49%) were serving a sentence of under two years.[14]  ‘Flow’ data indicated that 45% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders sentenced to imprisonment received a sentence of less than six months, compared with 27% of non-Indigenous offenders.[15]

  • Offences that led to sentences of imprisonment for less than six months for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders included ‘acts intended to cause injury’ and ‘offences against justice procedures’, but also included ‘property damage’ and ‘public order’ offences.

  • more likely to have a prior record of imprisonment: Most (76%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners in 2016 had been in prison previously, compared with 49% of non-Indigenous offenders.[17]