Victoria’s Prison Population Continues to Increase
The prisoner and juvenile detainee data in our Sentencing Statistics section has been updated. The update extends the original time series data up to 30 June 2007 for prisoner data and 30 June 2006 for juvenile detainee data.
Key points of interest in the updates include:
- Victoria’s prison population was 4,183 on 30 June 2007. This was 7.1% higher than at the same time in the previous year and continued an increasing trend that began in the late 1970s.
- On 30 June 2006, there were 38 juveniles in detention in Victoria, down from 63 on the same day in 2005.
- Victoria’s imprisonment rate on 30 June 2007 was 104.6 prisoners per 100,000 adults. This was well below the national average (169.4) and the second lowest in Australia behind the Australian Capital Territory (90.6).
- The juvenile detention rate on 30 June 2006 was 7.1 detainees per 100,000 juveniles, the lowest of any state and territory and well below the national average (29.1).
- 36.0% of sentenced prisoners released from Victorian prisons in 2004-05, returned to prison within two years of their release. This is down from 42.5% for prisoners released in 1999-2000.