[LINK] NSW Crime stats indicate Falling imprisonment levels

[tomk]

We have previously discussed in Link the lowering rates of crime in 
Australia.
This is now evidencing the trend in the Prisons population numbers.

As well as reclassification, it would seem that our boys in blue are 
doing a better job atdeterrent and the falling price of Asian made 
electronics goods bring such low values on resale that they aren't worth 
pinching....


Quote/ [From: 
http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/pages/bocsar_mr_BB80]
After steadily increasing for more than a decade, the NSW prison 
population is now on its way back down according to a new report 
released today by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.

The Bureau attributes the fall to lower crime rates, a reduction in the 
likelihood of imprisonment and the imposition of shorter prison sentences.

After increasing by 65 per cent between January 1998 and July 2009, the 
total NSW prison population began to fall.  In the 29 months from July 
2009 to December 2011, the NSW prison population decreased from 10,322 
to 9,626, a fall of 6.7 percent.

The fall in receptions is mainly attributable to fewer prison receptions 
for four offences: assault, traffic/motor vehicle regulatory offences, 
theft, and break and enter. These four offence categories alone 
accounted for 75 percent of the total decrease in sentenced prisoner 
receptions from July 2009 to December 2011.

The fall in prison receptions is partly due to a decrease in the number 
of convicted offenders and partly due to a fall in the percentage of 
convicted offenders given a prison sentence.

The total number of convicted offenders in NSW fell by 13 per cent 
between April 2009 to March 2011. The proportion of offenders convicted 
of theft who were imprisoned fell by 15.2 percent between 2009 and 2012, 
while the proportion convicted of assault fell by 11.7 percent.

Prison sentence length is also down for some offences. The mean sentence 
length fell for assault (down 13.0%), break and enter (down 11.1%) and 
traffic offences (down 7.2%).

Commenting on the findings, the Director of the Bureau, Dr Don 
Weatherburn, said that sooner or later the fall in crimes like theft and 
break and enter around Australia over the last 20 years was bound to 
have an effect on the number of theft and burglary offenders entering 
prison.

"It is not entirely clear at this stage why courts are less likely to 
imprison some offenders or why they are imprisoning some for shorter 
periods."

"It could be due to a reduction in the seriousness of some of the 
offences or offenders coming before the courts or it could be in 
recognition that most categories of crime are now under control."
/Quote

Complete Report inc. Stats at: 
http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/Lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/BB80.pdf/$file/BB80.pdf