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Results for prison population (australia)

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Author: Weatherburn, Don

Title: Prison Populations and Correctional Outlays: The Effect of Reducing Re-Imprisonment

Summary: "Between 1998 and 2008, the Australian imprisonment rate (per capita) rose 20 per cent. In 2008, net recurrent and capital expenditure on prisons in Australia exceeded $2.6 billion per annum. Efforts to reduce the prison population through the creation of alternatives to custody have not been very successful. This bulletin explores the potential savings in prison costs and prison numbers of reducing the rate at which prisoners return to custody. The results of our analysis suggest that modest reductions in the rate at which offenders are re-imprisoned would result in substantial savings in prisoner numbers and correctional outlays. A ten per cent reduction in the overall re-imprisonment rates would reduce the prison population by more than 800 inmates, saving $28 million per year. Comparable reductions in the number of new sentenced prisoners also produce benefits but they are smaller. The potential benefits of reducing the rate of re-imprisonment among subgroups of offenders with a high re-imprisonment rate are particularly noteworthy. A 10 per cent reduction in the Indigenous re-imprisonment rate, for example, would reduce the Indigenous sentenced prisoner population by 365 inmates, resulting in savings of more than $10 million per annum."

Details: Sydney: New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2009. 11p.

Source: Internet Resource; Contemporary Issues in Crime and Justice, No. 138; Accessed August 8, 2010 at http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/cjb138.pdf/$file/cjb138.pdf

Year: 2009

Country: Australia

URL: http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/cjb138.pdf/$file/cjb138.pdf

Shelf Number: 119575

Keywords:
Costs of Corrections
Inmates
Prison Overcrowding
Prison Population (Australia)
Prisons
Recidivism

Author: Fitzgerald, Jacqueline

Title: Why is the NSW Prison Population Falling?

Summary: Aim: After steadily increasing for more than a decade, from mid 2009 the NSW prison population started falling. This paper aims to identify why this has occurred. Method: The study relied upon administrative data. Corrections data was considered to gauge the size, timing and nature of changes in the prison population. Police recorded crime and court data were analysed to measure changes in offending and sentencing which eventually have a bearing on prison numbers. Results: Corrections data showed that the decrease in the prison population was limited to sentenced prisoners and was driven by a reduction in the number of offenders serving sentences for Assault, Break and enter, Theft and Traffic offences. Break and enter, Theft and Assault, prisoners appear to have decreased, in part, because the incidence of these offences have fallen. There have also been moves away from the use of imprisonment as a penalty for each of the four offences whether because fewer offenders are being imprisoned or because the average sentence length has fallen. Conclusion: In 2011, fewer offenders were serving prison sentences for Assault, Break and enter, Theft and Traffic offences. This appears to be due to both a reduction in the number of offenders in court and changes in sentencing practices for certain offences. It is beyond the scope of this paper to ascertain whether changes in sentencing practice reflect a move towards more lenient sentencing or whether they have resulted from changes in the severity of offences themselves. The reduction in the number of offenders for some offences appears to be due, at least in part, to a reduction in the volume of crime.

Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2012. 6p.

Source: Crime and Justice Statistics Bureau Brief, Issue Paper No. 80: Internet Resource: Accessed November 15, 2012 at http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/bb80.pdf/$file/bb80.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: Australia

URL: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/bb80.pdf/$file/bb80.pdf

Shelf Number: 126931

Keywords:
Corrections (Australia)
Incarceration Rates (Australia)
Prison Population (Australia)
Sentencing (Australia)