Australia's Rising Prison Population Linked to Stricter Bail Laws

The number of people in Australian prisons is at an all-time high and almost half of them have not been sentenced. That number has been steadily increasing for the past three years, with 40,330 people in custody in March 2022 and the figure now up to 46,081, according to recently released Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data.

Unsentenced prisoners, also known as people on remand, increased by 8 per cent (1,345 people) to 19,119 in the last quarter, accounting for 42 per cent of people in prison.

In the past few years, every state and territory has implemented, or is currently implementing, bail reform to make laws stricter, particularly for young offenders.

Thalia Anthony, from the University of Technology Sydney faculty of law, said in many states bail laws had changed to have a presumption against bail for certain crimes.

For example, in New South Wales, those charged with domestic violence offences must now 'show cause' as to why they should not be detained.

University of Newcastle's head of law and justice, John Anderson, said the changes to bail laws were in part due to societal pressure.

Law and justice professor Rick Sarre, from the University of Adelaide, said the new figures showed a 'complete and utter abject failure of social and justice policy'.

The rate of imprisonment has increased to 214 people per 100,000 adults, with men making up 92 per cent of all prisoners.

The imprisonment rate in the Northern Territory far exceeds the national average at 1,381.6 people per 100,000 adults.

Despite the high number of prisoners, the offending rate is at its lowest since the ABS began recording data in 2008-09.

According to World Prison Brief data, Australia has the seventh-highest rate of imprisonment of the G20 nations.

Nationally, corrective services cost taxpayers $6.52 billion in 2023-24, according to the Productivity Commission.

And if the rate of imprisonment remains the same, that number is expected to increase to $7 billion a year, a 2022 report by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia says.

According to the source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation.