New South Wales' Indigenous Prison Population Has Doubled in the Past 15 Years

The number of Indigenous people held in New South Wales prisons has doubled in the past 15 years, according to data released by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR). This comes despite the fact that Indigenous arrests have fallen by around a third over this same time period.

The two reports show that the rate of Indigenous arrest for violent offences declined by nearly 37 per cent, and by almost 33 per cent for property crime. And the research actually suggests that Indigenous crime rates will continue to fall, as younger Indigenous men—traditionally at high risk of incarceration—offend in lower numbers than ever before.

In the past 15 years, arrests of Indigenous men aged 15-19 for violent crime fell by almost 56 percent, and by around 58 percent for those between 20 and 24 years old.

However this drop hasn't been accompanied by a decrease in Indigenous imprisonment at all—in fact, the opposite is true. Indigenous Australians are six times more likely to be arrested for any offence than their non-Indigenous peers. This is a key factor in why, between 2001 and 2015, the number of Indigenous Australians imprisoned in NSW more than doubled.

Why the gap? Well, Indigenous people are far more likely to receive prison sentences for things like minor offences and breaches of custodial orders. In a statement released with the findings BOSCAR's director, Dr Don Weatherburn, said the growth in Indigenous imprisonment was due to "a combination of tougher sentencing and tougher law enforcement."

"People convicted of violent offences are now much more likely to receive a prison sentence than they were 15 years ago," he said. "Law enforcement authorities, on the other hand, appear to be taking a much firmer line in relation to breaches of community-based orders."

An interesting finding to emerge from the research was that Indigenous people were refused bail more often than non-Indigenous people arrested for the same crimes. This can mean a lengthy stint in jail, before the detainee is even found guilty of any offence.

BOCSAR's troubling findings aren't a uniquely NSW problem. Indigenous Australians are over-represented in every prison system in the country.

In the same 15 year period, Indigenous imprisonment rates increased by a shocking 171 percent in the Northern Territory, 141 percent in the Australian Capital Territory, 114 percent in South Australia and 43.9 percent in Western Australia.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, nearly a third 27 percent of Australia's 33,800 prisoners are Indigenous.

In August, a report by the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration found that Australia's Indigenous incarceration rate has risen by 52 percent in the past decade.

That report also found that many prison rehabilitation programs were culturally inappropriate and ineffective at acknowledging the unique challenges faced by Indigenous people in incarceration.

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