Detention history
About 2 in 3 (68%) prison entrants reported they had previously been in an adult prison. Almost one-third (30%) had been in prison at least 5 times before, and 31% had never been previously incarcerated in the adult prison system (Figure 8.1).
Almost 1 in 5 (19%) prison entrants had previously been in youth detention. Of those previously in youth detention, almost two-thirds (64%) were in youth detention 1–2 times and just over one-quarter (26%) at least 5 times.
Male prison entrants were more likely to report extensive prison histories than female entrants (Figure 8.1). About one-third (33%) of male entrants had been in prison 5 or more times, compared with 15% of females. About one-third of male entrants (28%) and almost a half of female entrants (47%) had never been in prison before. Female entrants (88%) were more likely than male entrants (79%) to have never been in youth detention before.
One-quarter (25%) of First Nations prison entrants had never been in prison before, while almost 2 in 5 (39%) had been in prison at least 5 times before. One-quarter (25%) of First Nations prison entrants had been to youth detention at least once before.
Figure 8.1: Prison entrants, previous number of times in an adult prison, by sex and Indigenous identity, 2022
Notes
- Proportions are representative of this data collection only, and not the entire prison population.
- Excludes Victoria, which, did not provide data for this item.
Source: Entrants form, 2022 NPHDC.