Victoria records largest drop in prisoners behind bars in Australia
Victoria has recorded a significant drop in the number of prisoners behind bars. Here’s why.
Victoria
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Victoria has recorded the biggest drop in the number of prisoners behind bars out of anywhere in the country.
New figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Friday revealed that there were 6569 prisoners in Victoria as of June 2022, a 9 per cent fall compared to the previous year.
Western Australia reported the second highest drop at 7 per cent, followed by NSW and Queensland who all dropped in line with the 6 per cent national average.
Victorians imprisoned for unlawful entry with intent saw the most dramatic decrease, at 20 per cent, while incarceration related to illicit drug offences fell by 15 per cent.
Acts intended to cause injury dropped by 7 per cent.
This means that there are now 127 Victorians incarcerated per 100,000 people, down from 139 between 2021 and 2022.
Victoria is following a national trend, with the number of prisoners around Australia showing the largest decline in years.
ABS head of crime and justice statistics William Milne said the national prisoner count had fallen to its lowest since 2017, but some crimes had risen.
“Covid-19 related restrictions, which began in March 2020, may still be impacting criminal activity and the justice system,” he said.
“Prisoner numbers dropped for nearly all offence types, including illicit drug offences (-13 per cent), burglary (-11 per cent), and robbery (-12 per cent).
“In contrast, prisoners in custody for sexual assault offences increased by 4 per cent over the year.”
Last week the Sunday Herald Sun revealed hundreds of prison cells were sitting empty because of staff shortages and a backlog in the court system.
With courts unable to hear cases quick enough, prisoner numbers are falling prompting the closure of prison beds.
It comes after the Herald Sun
In January, the Andrews government was looking at relaxing the laws that were tightened in 2017 in the wake of the Bourke St tragedy.
It was revealed last week that hundreds of prison cells were vacant due to staff shortages and a backlog in the court system.
It is understood a number of beds at facilities such as Port Philip Prison remain vacant due to the declining prisoner numbers.
A Department of Justice and Community Safety spokesperson said: “The number of prisoners in Victoria is decreasing, with the state recording the second lowest prisoner population rate per 100,000 adults and the average number of prisoners decreasing by 5.2 per cent”.
While the number of female prisoners dropped drastically by 17 per cent, there are just 341 women in prison, compared to 6218 men.
Robbery, extortion, drug offences and unlawful entry with intent were the most common offences committed by both male and female prisoners.
Incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians for theft dipped by a third.
There were 40,591 prisoners, including those on remand, in custody across the country as of June 2022.
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Originally published as Victoria records largest drop in prisoners behind bars in Australia
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