In Chapter 6, discussion of broader influences – such as new sentencing dispositions, changes in the use of bail and remand, and parole reforms – is presented before some conclusions are drawn. Data and data sources This report presents data on adult prisoners held in Victoria and sentences handed down in the Magistrates’ Court and higher courts (County and Supreme Courts). The data on prisoners only includes adults held in corrective services custody. Prisoner data was obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Corrections Victoria. Two primary types of prisoner data were examined: the number in prison at a given point in time (sometimes referred to as the ‘stock’) and the number received into prison (sometimes referred to as the ‘flow’). For prisoner stock numbers, the count taken on 30 June each year (known as the prisoner census) was used. Corrections Victoria data was used for 2016 only, with all other years sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. For imprisonment rates, the crude rates reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics were used for 2006 to 2015. Rates were calculated in 2016 using prisoner stock data from Corrections Victoria and projected population data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. All data in Chapter 2 refers to the prisoner census taken between 30 June 2006 and 30 June 2016. In all other chapters in this report, data is only available up to the 2014–15 financial year or the 2015 prisoner census. Prisoner reception data was obtained from multiple Corrections Victoria sources including statistical profile publications and direct communication with the Department of Justice and Regulation. data was obtained from Court Services Victoria. Magistrates’ Court data was supplied to the Council in extracts from the CourtLink case management system. Higher courts sentencing data was supplied to the Council as a database known as the higher courts sentencing database.
some offenders who receive a custodial sentence have already served their entire sentence while on remand, in advance of their sentence date. The overall custody rate for all sentences imposed by Victorian courts remained low and stable between 2004–05 and 2014–15. The custody rate across all courts increased 0.3 of a percentage with 7.1% of offenders receiving a custodial sentence in 2004–05 and 7.4% of offenders receiving a custodial sentence in 2014–15. This is a consequence of custodial sentences comprising only a small percentage of sentences imposed in the Magistrates’ Court, where the majority of offenders are sentenced. Different trends can be seen by taking a closer look at the custody rates at each court level. Figure 10 details the custody rates for the Magistrates’ Court and the higher courts by financial year. The custody rate for offenders sentenced in the Magistrates’ Court has remained relatively stable, increasing from 5.9% of offenders in 2004–05 to 6.3% of offenders in 2014–15 (an increase of 8%). Figure 10: Custody by court level, 2004–05 to 2014–15 Financial year Magistrates' court Higher courts 2004–05 5.9 50.8 2005–06 6.1 52.5 2006–07 5.9 53.8 2007–08 5.0 54.8 2008–09 5.2 57.4 2009–10 5.9 64.1 2010–11 5.4 62.6 2011–12 5.5 62.3 2012–13 6.3 68.5 2013–14 6.1 66.5 2014–15 6.3 64.3 Source: Services Victoria, unpublished data. In contrast, the custody rate in the higher courts increased by a statistically significant 27% between 2004–05 and 2014–15. The custody rate peaked in the higher courts in 2012–13, when over 68% of offenders sentenced in the higher courts received a custodial sentence. Nonetheless, the slight reduction in the custody rate since 2012–13 still sees a higher proportion of offenders receiving a custodial sentence in 2014–15 than in any of the years prior to the peak.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Prisoners in Australia, cat. no. 4517.0 (2005–2015). Observations on prisoners in Victoria The number of prisoner receptions by legal status (Figure 21) does not reflect the trends observed in the prisoner census data (Figure 3). The decrease in the sentenced prisoner population observed between 30 June 2014 and 30 June 2015 is not reflected in a decrease in the number of prisoners who became sentenced prisoners in 2013–14, although the increase did slow in 2013–14 and 2014–15. Nonetheless, the increase in the number of unsentenced prisoners observed in Figure 3 is reflected in the increase in the number of prisoners received into Victorian prisons that remained unsentenced throughout the financial year. Sentenced prisoners Sentenced prisoners were most likely to be imprisoned for an offence against the person. Offenders imprisoned for an offence against the person were most likely to have been sentenced for a sexual assault offence. In line with the data presented in previous chapters, the number of sentenced prisoners serving time for a cause injury offence as their principal proven offence more than tripled between 2005 and 2015. This suggests that across the offending, sentencing, and prisoner data, an increase in cause injury and other offences against the person is having an observable influence on the prison population. The average aggregate sentence lengths and average expected time to serve decreased between 2005 and 2015, particularly since 2012. This is possibly the result of the growing proportion of offenders in prison for cause injury offences and the substantial growth in offenders in custody for justice procedures offences since 2011. Overall, the decrease in the sentenced prisoner population in recent can be attributed to an increase in the use of shorter custodial sentences (after a period of growth in both the number of custodial sentences and the average length of those sentences).