The Director of the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) Dr Don Weatherburn says the state’s prison population is going to explode over at least the next eight months.
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“Our current forecast is that the prison population will reach just under 13,500 in early 2017,” he said.
The adult prison population grew by 6.5 per cent between July 2015 and June 2016, reaching 12,550 . The numbers have jumped 21 per cent in the last two years.
The NSW government has scoped land at several NSW Correctional facilities including Wellington, where it is looking at expansion of the jail. Others are also on the agenda.
Boscar says the increase is attributable to a growth in prisoners on remand, unconvicted prisoners awaiting trial or sentence. Between July 2015 and June 2016 the number of adult prisoners on remand grew by 14.8 per cent (from 3,633 to 4,170). Over the same period, the number of sentenced prisoners rose by 2.8 per cent (from 8,148 to 8,380).
The growth in the remand population is due to the length of time being spent on remand.
Over the past year, the number of remand prisoners received into custody grew by 6.1 per cent. The average length of stay by prisoners leaving remand during the first quarter of this year was 47 days. In the last quarter this increased to 55.2 days.
The growth in the sentenced prisoner population over the past year appears to be mainly a result of offenders spending longer in custody.
Receptions of sentenced prisoners actually fell 12.4 per cent in the 12 months to June. However, the average length of stay by prisoners leaving sentenced custody increased from 193.7 days in the first quarter of 2016 to 235.7 days in the second quarter.
The periods spent in custody by sentenced prisoners leaving custody that began their custodial episode as remand prisoners have also increased. The average time in custody in the first quarter of 2016 was 409.1 days. In the most recent quarter this increased to 421.3 days.