More people in jails and most of them indigenous - ABS CANBERRA, Dec 20 AAP|Published: Thursday December 20, 1:05 PM
Australia's jails are housing more prisoners, with a large proportion being indigenous or male, latest figures show. While fewer people (21,351) landed in jail in the September quarter of 2001 compared to the June quarter, the average daily imprisonment rate was higher on a yearly basis. The average daily number of prisoners increased by 620, or three per cent, over the year from the September 2000 quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said. There were 145 prisoners per 100,000 adult population during the September 2001 quarter, a two per cent increase since the same time last year. Western Australia and Queensland follow the NT as states most likely to house prisoners, ABS figures sh ow. A total of 94 per cent of those behind bars are male, with just six per cent of the prison population female. Indigenous prisoners comprise 20 per cent of people in jails and outrate non-indigenous prisoners by 15 times. But in the NT indigenous prisoners make up 61 per cent of people in jails. The NT had the highest imprisonment rate per 100,000 adults, with a rate of 491, which was an eight per cent rise on last year. In Western Australia and Queensland there were 220 and 168 prisoners per 100,000 people respectively. The average daily number of prisoners during the September quarter this year was 19,977 males (94 per cent) and 1,374 females (six per cent). The rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in prison is 15 times the non-indigenous rate. On September 1 this year the 4,202 indigenous prisoners in Australian jails were 20 per cent of the prison population. The highest number of indigenous prisoners was in NSW, but in the NT indigenous people comprise the largest proportion of the total population (25 per cent) and amount to 61 per cent of those people in jails. http://www.theage.com.au/breaking/2001/12/20/FFX2F53PPUC.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/ until 11 March, 2001 and Recoznettwo is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznettwo%40green.net.au/ from that date. This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use."
