With crime decreasing, Australia has far too many citizens in gaol

As Alan Austin reports, the latest prisoner numbers raise many important questions.

If crime is increasing nationwide, we would naturally expect the prison population to increase accordingly. This doesn’t happen in Australia.

Crime odds It crashed during the COVID pandemic. Citizens under quarantine were not allowed to drink coffee, eat or walk in the park with other people as often as before. It seemed that they were no longer able to attack and kill each other as often as before.

Since then, crime rates have not returned to pre-COVID high levels. However, prisoner numbers continue to increase.

the bitter truth

according to Australian Bureau of StatisticsAs of June 30, 2025, there were 46,998 adults in prisons. This was 2,595 more than in June 2024; It represented an increase of 5.8% and the highest figure ever, although not the highest per population.

The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners increased by 1,561 to 17,432, up 9.8% from 2024. See the table below.

(Data source: ABSs)

Prisoner numbers increased in all states and territories except Victoria in 2024. Numbers increased everywhere except Tasmania in 2025.

The incarceration rate currently stands at 216.4 inmates per 100,000 adult population, down from 208.2 in 2024 and just 200.9 in 2022. This rate was the lowest level in recent years. The highest figure was in 2018 with 221.5.

The difference in rates between states is huge; Victoria is by far the lowest, with a rate of 118.2 prisoners per 100,000 people. Western Australia has the highest rate at 357.1 per 100,000 people. The Northern Territory is far worse off than any other state, with an inexcusable rate of 1,419.4 per 100,000 people.

Increase in the last two years

Disturbingly, the last two years have seen an increase in the number of prisoners by 5,069, or 12.1%.

As the chart shows, the number of domestic prisons has increased by 3,580 in the last two years; This rate was a terrible figure of 25.8%. The number of non-natives increased by only 1,346, or 4.8%.

In what could be a sign of better gender equality, the rate of women incarcerated is now rising after a long history of starkly disparate rates. While there has been a 20.9% increase in the number of female prisoners in the last two years, this rate was 11.4% for males.

Higher prison sentences are not due to aggravation of the crime. The reduction in violent crime in Australia since gun laws were reformed in 1996 and 2002 has been impressive.

Premeditated murders in 1995 were recorded World Bank 19.7 per million people. This rate dropped to 12.1 in 2009 and only 8.5 in 2023.

The main reason for this is that justice ministries and courts tend to detain unpunished criminals rather than allowing them to remain in society.

In the last two years, the number of detained prisoners increased by 3,913; This represents a 24.6% increase, as opposed to a 4.5% increase for convicted prisoners.

The community is no safer

Disturbing to work Dr. Emma Russell et al According to the following conclusion published last year by the University of NSW:

Governments are jailing more Australians, mostly due to changes in criminal law and policies. These include making it more difficult to access bail or extending the duration of prison sentences.

One estimate suggests that 77% of the increase in imprisonment in Australia since 1985 can be attributed to these two factors alone.

UNSW research, ‘Prisons don’t create safer communities, so why is Australia spending billions of dollars building them?’ He suggests a solution:

‘Governments… can pursue evidence-based alternatives to imprisonment, such as place-based initiatives led by First Nations communities. Instead governments are spearheading massive new prison building projects.’

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

This brings us to arguably the most shameful blemish on Australia’s human rights record, and this point needs to be at the forefront of attention.

Indigenous Australians only 3.8% makes up 37.1 percent of the population but currently represents 37.1 percent of the prison population. This rate increased compared to 33.0% in 2023 and 27.6% in 2018.

The rising tide of Indigenous incarceration sharpens the condemnation of all politicians, media commentators and others campaigning against Indigenous Voice in Parliament in 2023.

Like meA. The First Nations National Constitutional Convention, hotly but pointlessly debated at the time, called for modest reform. This offered the best chance in a generation to create the framework within which Indigenous leaders could tackle the root causes of dysfunction in Indigenous communities.

The betrayal of the opportunists who destroyed the ambitions of Indigenous leaders, including many (but not all) of the Coalition MPs taking office in 2023, must never be forgotten. Until the Coalition commits to listening to the voices of Australia’s poor, they will not deserve to participate in any national decision-making process.

Reforms can be achieved

UNSW’s Russell study reported:

‘The over-incarceration of First Nations people reflects a long history of the use of imprisonment as a tool of colonial control. ‘This is leading to more children being separated from their families, reducing access to housing, education and healthcare.’

The study shows that other countries, including the Netherlands, think decarceration is not only possible but also has broad economic and social benefits, including reducing crime:

‘Rather than falsely positioning prisons as an economic panacea and swallowing the myth that they create safety through punishment and exclusion, evidence suggests that governments should enact new policies and redirect funding towards infrastructure – housing, healthcare, education, healthy environments and sustainable employment opportunities – that strengthens communities and increases safety for all.’

If the Netherlands can make it Speech Western Australia could also depopulate prisons.