Rise of 21% in state’s jail population also coincided with a doubling in rate of serious assaults on prisoners by fellow inmates, figures show

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Queensland jails held a record number of Indigenous people last month after the state’s prison population soared 21% in just two years.

The rising total population in the state’s jails has also coincided with a doubling in the rate of serious assaults on prisoners by fellow inmates.



Figures obtained by Guardian Australia from Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) show Indigenous people, who make up less than 4% of the state’s population, remain grossly overrepresented in prisons, where they account for almost a third of inmates.

A total of 2,327 inmates of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background were in custody on 2 April, which a spokeswoman said was “the highest Indigenous prison population attained on record”.



Queensland’s total prison population of 7,302 on the same day was also a record.



The state attorney general, Yvette D’Ath, has raised concerns about the rising jail population, saying last week rates of imprisonment had “reached unacceptable levels particularly in Indigenous communities”.



D’Ath signalled a break from the law and order policies of the former Newman government, which favoured mandatory sentencing in legislation and abolished the Sentencing Advisory Council.



Both Indigenous prisoner numbers and the total prison population rose about 21% in the two years to 31 March, according to the figures from QCS.



The numbers of prisoners from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background remained steady as a proportion at about 32% over that period. Indigenous people made up just 3.6 % of the general Queensland population in the 2011 census.

Indigenous prisoner numbers of 1,915 on 31 March 2013 rose to 2,243 a year later and then 2,319 on 31 March 2015. Total prisoners rose from 6,017 to 6,897 and 7,280 over the same periods.

The rate of serious assaults on prisoners rose from 0.63 per 100 prisoners in 2012-13 to 1.54 per 100 in 2013-14 and 1.22 per 100 so far this financial year.



There have been 87 serious assaults so far in 2014-15, compared with 37 in 2012-13 and 103 in 2013-14.



Assault numbers overall, which include less serious assaults, are down slightly, having fluctuated from 196 assaults (3.35 per 100 prisoners) in 2012-13 to 348 (5.2 per 100) in 2013-14 and 232 (3.25 per 100) in 2014-15 so far.



The figures show Queensland’s more crowded prisons have conversely led to fewer recorded assaults on prison staff per 100 prisoners, dropping from 0.36 in 2013-13 to 0.2 in 2014-15 so far.



There were 21 assaults on staff in 2012-13 (four of them serious); 23 in 2013-14 (four serious) and 14 so far in 2014-15 (three serious).



D’Ath, with a letter tabled in parliament on 27 April that refused to act on a petition calling for mandatory sentencing for “home invasions”, signalled a break from the tough-on-crime rhetoric of her predecessor, former Liberal National party attorney general Jarrod Bleijie.



The petition, sponsored by former independent MP Liz Cunningham and signed by 433 people, was in response to the burglary and assault of a Brisbane couple in their 60s who were doused with petrol and threatened with immolation by four men in balaclavas last year.



D’Ath said the government was opposed to mandatory sentencing and supported the discretion of judges to sentence individual cases and be held to account by the system of legal appeals.



“It is also important to note that incarceration rates in Queensland have been rising and have reached unacceptable levels particularly in Indigenous communities,” she wrote.



“The Queensland government has committed to investigate options to reduce incarceration, including but not limited to justice reinvestment and court-ordered parole.”



D’Ath said the government would also re-establish the sentencing advisory council, which would “undertake research into the effectiveness of various sentencing practices in reducing crime”.



The QCS spokeswoman said the system had “the ability to cater for as many prisoners as required, and adapt accordingly”.



“Correctional centres in Queensland are scalable to ensure prisoner numbers (which fluctuate for a range of reasons) can be accommodated at any given point in time,” she said.

“QCS has implemented a variety of approaches to safely incarcerate inmates including dual occupancy within cells designed for such use, and the use of temporary bunk beds, trundle beds and mattresses in secure cell or residential areas.

“Individual suitability assessments are conducted in all cases where prisoners are considered for placement in a cell with another prisoner.”