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Recommendation 47
This recommendation is assigned to CSNSW.
Recommendation
That relevant Ministers report annually to their State and Territory Parliaments as to the numbers of persons held in police, prison and juvenile centre custody with statistical details as to the legal status of the persons so held (for example, on arrest; on remand for trial; on remand for sentence; sentenced; for fine default or on other warrant; for breach of non-custodial court orders; protective custody or as the case may be), including whether the persons detained were or were not Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people.
Context
The Royal Commission noted they had access to a wider range of information on the use of prisons in Australia than in relation to Police custody and that whilst the Australian Institute of Criminology census was valuable, a significant deficiency was that for some jurisdictions the Aboriginality or non-Aboriginality of prisoners was not stated. Recommendation 47 was directed at ensuring the same information was available across all custody types and to establish consistency in reporting of Aboriginality and non-Aboriginality.
Status: Alternative recommendation implemented
An alternative to the Royal Commission’s recommendation has been implemented. The intention of the recommendation has been met and the Expert Committee considered that currently a better process is in place where clear information is publicly available.
- CSNSW publish the Inmate Census annually and provides data for the Report on Government Services (ROGs).
- The Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) publishes a quarterly custody report.
Detail of implementation
Custody statistics were formerly provided in the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) annual report, however these statistics are no longer included in the DCJ Annual Report, the last date where custody statistics including legal status and whether a person detained was an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person was in 2013/2014.
CSNSW publish the Inmate Census each year, which provides this level of detail. Following Machinery of Government changes in 2024, CSNSW is now a standalone public service agency.
BOCSAR also publishes a quarterly custody report, which includes details on adults and juveniles in custody.
The intention of the recommendation relates to this information being publicly available and accessible by the public/anyone which appears to be satisfied by the provision of the above material. CSNSW also provide data for the Report on Government Services (ROGs) which is reported to Commonwealth Parliament.
Evidence
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