Prisoners - Legal Information Access Centre - NSW Government

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imprisOnmenT rATes Australia’s imprisonment rate has doubled since the early 1980s. A significant part of the growth in the prison population is the growth in remand prisoners who are awaiting trial and have been denied bail. The proportion of remand prisoners has nearly doubled in the decade 1997-2007 (see graph below) and is approaching one in every four prisoners. In NSW the increasing proportion of remand prisoners stems from an ever expanding list of exceptions to the presumption in favour of bail created in the Bail Act 1978 (NSW). In particular, 2002 amendments targeting repeat property offenders have made bail much harder to obtain, including for juveniles, as has a recent change which restricts bail applications to one. Australian prisoners, rate per 100,000 adults, 1984-2007 200 160 120 80 40 0 Sentenced Remand Total 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 Source: Australian crime: facts and figures 2007, Australian Institute of Criminology 2008, available online at http://www.aic.gov.au/ publications/facts/2007/ Having one prisoner out of four unconvicted challenges the practical effect of fundamental principles like the presumption of innocence. Some people on remand will be acquitted and some will be convicted but not given a custodial penalty. Compensation is not paid to people held on remand who are acquitted. The average time spent on remand is between 2.5 and 3 months. Those appearing for trial on remand are more likely to be convicted. Remand prisoners are more likely to lose employment and there are significant effects on family and dependents. Such high remand figures also challenge the assumption that punishment is what comes after the trial and a finding of guilt. For remand prisoners, rather than punishment following conviction, it begins upon arrest. Other factors behind the rapidly increasing prison population are harder to pin down. Factors identified by the NSW Select Committee into the Increase in Prisoner Population in NSW include: > patterns of offending; > policing practices; > legislative changes; > tougher sentences; > guideline judgments; > increased drug use, particularly heroin; > increasing poverty and disadvantage; > extent of the availability and accessibility of services. 12 prisOner cHArAcTerisTics The 2008 national survey, Prisoners in Australia, produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics summarises key features of the Australian prison population: 13 > the average age of male prisoners is 33, and for females, 34; > approx 68% of prisoners are aged between 20 and 39; > substantial increase in the proportion of women prisoners from1998-2008; > substantial increase in the proportion of Indigenous prisoners from1998-2008; > 55% of prisoners have been imprisoned before; > proportion of remand prisoners (those held in custody waiting trial) has nearly doubled in ten years. inmATe HeAlTH While there is no national reporting on the health status of Australian prisoners, the information that is available indicates that this substantial population group is mostly from a disadvantaged socioeconomic background, often has poor physical and mental health status, frequently engages in risk-taking behaviour and, as a result, has special health needs. Prisoner health surveys are available from some states – the 2001 NSW Inmate Health Survey; the 2002 Queensland Women Prisoners’ Health Survey and the 2003 Victorian Prisoner Health Study. Important findings from these surveys include: > more than half of all male and female prisoners surveyed reported a history of injecting drug use; > high proportions of prisoners tested positive for communicable diseases, particularly hepatitis C, which is strongly associated with injecting drug use; > approximately 80% of prisoners were current smokers, which was over four times the rate of the general population; > mental health concerns were common among inmates. The NSW Legislative Council Select Committee on the Increase in Prisoner Population Final Report (2001) noted that in NSW prisons: 14 > 80% of inmates were incarcerated for offences relating to alcohol and other drug use; > 60% of males and 70% of females had a history of illicit drug use; 12. NSW Legislative Council (see Note 10) at p 33. 13. Australian Bureau of Statistics Prisoners in Australia 2007, (2008), 4517, p 16. 14. NSW Legislative Council (see Note 10) at pp 19-20. the prison population 3
approximately one-third of males and two-thirds of females were Hepatitis C positive; > approximately one-third of males and half the females had been assessed or treated for mental illness by a psychiatrist or psychologist at some time; > 13% of inmates have an intellectual disability; > 16% of inmates have been sexually abused before the age of 16; > 21% of inmates have attempted suicide; > 40% of inmates meet the diagnosis of personality disorder. sOciO-ecOnOmic sTATus The Final Report quoted NSW Department of Corrective Services figures which showed: > 60% of inmates are not functionally literate or numerate; > 44% of inmates are long term unemployed; > 60% of inmates did not complete year 10 schooling; > 64% of inmates have no stable family; > many inmates have had contact with the Department of Community Services, with a high proportion of those being state wards. 15 The Final Report went on to note that research by Professor Tony Vinson found that in NSW most offenders were drawn from the ‘top 30’ most disadvantaged neighbourhoods which accounted for: > four and a quarter times their share of child abuse; > three and a quarter times their share of emergency assistance; > three times their share of court convictions and long term unemployment; > twice their share of low income households; > a little under one and a half times their share of school leavers before 15 years. 16 In terms of their health and socio-economic status prisoners are disproportionately affected by drug and alcohol problems, intellectual disability, illiteracy and innumeracy, low educational attainment, unemployment, having been the victim of child sexual assault, being state wards, and having weak or no family ties. Offences cOmmiTTed In 2007 across Australia, the most common offences (sentenced and unsentenced) were: > acts intended to cause injury (various forms of assault) (19%); > sexual assault (11%); > unlawful entry with intent (break and enter) (12%); > homicide (10%); > illicit drug offences (10%); > robbery and extortion (9%). In terms of the sentences prisoners were serving at the time of the survey: > 5% of all sentenced prisoners were serving a life sentence or other indeterminate sentence; > 21% were serving from 5-10 years; > 23% were serving from 2-5 years; > 34% were serving less than two years; > the median expected time to serve was 1.8 years. 17 Note: This survey is of prisoners on one day so that it is more likely to catch long term prisoners on more serious offences. Examining total prisoners in Australian prisons over the course of a year would find many more short-term prisoners serving sentences for less serious offences such as public order offences and drunkenness. This would be even more the case if it included those being held in police custody as distinct from prisons. For receptions in NSW in 2001, 63% of receptions (5011 of the total 8005 receptions) were of prisoners serving less than six months imprisonment. 18 In 2000: > 7.2% of sentenced prisoners received in that year were serving sentences of two years and over; 19 > 10% were serving 1-2 years; > 24.7% were serving 3-6 months; > 19.8% were serving 6-12 months; > 37.8% were serving less than 3 months. The NSW Legislative Council Select Committee concluded: the prison population consists of men and women who are on average of lower socioeconomic status, poorer health and lower levels of education than the rest of the population. indigenous men and women and those with an intellectual disability or a mental illness are significantly over represented. the average age of the inmate population is increasing. although significant numbers of inmates have been sentenced for serious offences and are in maximum security classified institutions, the majority of prisoners who pass through the system serve sentences of less than six months and are in minimum security or serving periodic detention. almost a quarter of the prison population are awaiting sentence. 20 15. NSW Legislative Council (see Note 10) at p 20. 16. As above, quoting Tony Vinson, Unequal in Life: The Distribution of Social Disadvantage in Victoria and NSW (1999) Jesuit Social Services: Melbourne, available online at http://old.jss.org.au/research/pdfs/unequal_full_life.pdf 17. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Prisoners in Australia 2007, (2008) 4517. 18. NSW Legislative Council (see Note 10) at p 110. 19. NSW Legislative Council (see Note 10) at p 29. 20. NSW Legislative Council (see Note 10) at p 32. 4 HOT TOPICS 67 > Prisoners
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