Aussie prison population up 50 percent in decade: data

CANBERRA, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The number of people being held in Australian prisons has increased for the sixth consecutive year, data released on Friday revealed.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) found that there were 41,202 Australians behind bars on June 30, 2017, a 6-percent increase on the figure at the same time in 2016.

The figure represented a 51 percent increase in the number of prisoners in Australia since June 30, 2007.

New South Wales (NSW) accounted for the highest percentage of prisoners among Australia's states and territories with 32 percent followed by Queensland with 21 percent.

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Tasmania each had just 1 percent of the total prisoner population.

William Milne, Director of the National Centre of Crime and Justice Statistics at the ABS, said that in that time period the number of people being convicted with an intension to cause injury and illicit drug offences had risen considerably.

"Since the previous year, prisoners with an offence of acts intended to cause injury increased by 12 percent, while prisoners with illicit drug offences increased 18 percent."

"This increase in prisoners was partially offset by prisoners with an offence of theft, which decreased by 8 percent since 2016."

People who identified as being Aboriginal or from the Torres Strait Islands made up 27 percent of the nation's prison population despite that group represented just 3 percent of Australia's total population.

Convicted criminals who had been sentenced made up 68 percent of the total prison population while the remaining 32 percent were those awaiting sentencing and those awaiting trial. Enditem